I youre only considering price, Taurus has more varying models and does look more appealing, especially if youre limited in funds.
I think if youre going to compare the S&W to Taurus, then the Raging Judge is probably the closest, more similar comparison of the two.
Those two are only about $40 apart in price, and for that little bit of difference, and given Taurus's sketchy history across all their guns, I think the S&W would be the no brainer.
The S&W will only take 2.5" 410's, where the Taurus I believe will take 3". Not sure how much of a difference that really is, but I guess its something.
I was surprised at how accurate and how little the pattern spread with the Federal handgun specific Personal Defense 000 buck load was. I didnt find it to have heavy recoil or was it difficult to shoot with. The load also went where I was aiming when I shot.
I havent shot any of the three pellet 000 buck, so I dont have a comparison.
If I were going to use it for people defense, I doubt Id use either.
I didnt find the birdshot load to be any different recoil wise than the buck loads. The patterns seemed pretty consistent and more or less centered on the POA too.
Of the three, for me anyway, its probably going to be the best choice for the .410 loads.
As far as how much of it your hand can take shooting it? Id rather shoot 50 rounds of the buck out of my Governor, than 50 rounds of the 158 grain loads I would carry in my Airweight J frames.
45Colt has more felt recoil than the 45acp. Kind of what youd expect I guess. Both are still easy to shoot well with though. Seems like the 454 would go the other way.
The main reason I went with the Smith was, Ive had/seen bad experiences with Taurus handguns in the past, and I like S&W's, and considering the number Ive owned over the years, have had very few problems with them.
The few (2) times Ive had to use it, S&W's customer service, while not great, was a lot better than Taurus's. Call S&W, and they will have a label for you in a couple of minutes, and the gun back to you within a week or two.
As far as these things go, S&W is pretty limited in their offerings of them, and I have a feeling, they probably just did them to cut into Taurus's market.
Taurus does have a lot more options and at lesser prices.
Whichever floats your boat, go for it. As was mentioned, thats really the only way to know. Might be the best thing you ever did.