Rossi = Taurus. They're pretty much the same folks- I think they merged. Their quality has the same track record- if they work, they work pretty good... while they work.
Well, to a point, I've got an old Rossi .38 5-shot 3" bbl, kinda like a S&W J-Frame. I don't shoot it a whole lot, and it's rougher than a cob compared to a S&W 36- but I can't fault it for not working.
I honestly think one of the Phillipine 1911's would fit the bill better in the "stopping power" dept as you mentioned earlier. I put that in parenthesis, because that will likely open a whole other can of worms. I think we all catch your drift an mean that you would prefer to shoot a critter a minimal amount of times and have said critter cease and desist all hostile actions and intentions towards you and your loved ones. right? (Hopefully we ended that debate on symantics?)
Anyway, Rossi doesn't have the greatest track record either.