I don't know what's best for you, but here's what I did...
The Mac has VNC built-in, so I just turned that on, and then I downloaded an app called Remoter VNC. With that app I could access my Mac over my local network. (It's a universal binary, so I used it on my iPhone 4.)
I stopped using it though, because it didn't feel secure enough to me. There is an in-app purchase for SSH, but I'm not sure if Apple's VNC supports that. Heh, I probably could have done more research, but squishing my desktop on a phone wasn't exactly great for productivity. With an iPad, it might be more comfortable.