The Ruger SP101 is the heaviest and toughest of the 5-shot snubbies. If you can deal with the weight, it'll give you low recoil, a good choice if you have physical issues with recoil or want to shoot some fairly hot .357s.
The Colt Detective Special is known for it's sixth shot, and is among the more accurate snubbies. Available in .38spl, and most can handle +P. A .357 variant was designed (the "Magnum Carry") but only a few shipped before Colt ran into the troubles that got them out of the handgun biz.
Both Taurus and S&W offer similar sized 5-shot snubbies. The S&W Scandiums are in my opinion just too light unless you're planning on shooting mild .38; .357s in those are just bone-jarring. In steel, both are fine guns; Taurus offers Titanium which is pricey, but both heavier and tougher than the S&W Scandiums so if you can afford the Taurus TIs, they're not a crazy choice.
Used steel-frame S&W 5-shot .38spls are common, good and fairly cheap. There's lot of variations among various S&Ws...I personally like the "Bodyguard" types with a hammer that can be cocked, but resists snagging.
The 5-shot S&W frame size is what they call the "J-Frame"; I tend to call "close clones" by other vendors such as Taurus "J-class", especially if the cylinder size is so close that it'll eat from the same speedloaders.
Charter Arms is another source of "J-Class" snubbies BUT the newer ones are badly regarded. Some of the older ones were truly exceptional but you have to know the breed to pick one properly - I don't recommend trying unless you have somebody along who knows Charters. I consider my old late-'70s vintage Charter Arms "Undercover" the best five-shot .38 ever made, and I'd never ever part with it.
Other than the Colt Dick Special, all the other six or seven round .38/357 "snubbies" are really mid-sized frame guns such as the S&W "K-Frame" with small grips and a barrel cut to 2.5" or less. These are slightly bulkier than a "true snubbie" but are often a pretty good gun.
I would mostly recommend against .32Magnum. Granted, you can get six rounds in a J-class platform but they're not as effective as .38+P and good defensive fodder in .32Mag is hard to come by. CorBon was considering a load in that caliber that mighthave changed things but that fell through. MagSafe still makes a hot load but opinions on frangibles varies.
One last, oddball choice. Taurus makes their steel J-class frame size in an 8-shot .22Magnum
. There's one particular really hot .22Mag, the "CCI MaxiMag +V TNT" that rivals a lot of the .32Mags in raw performance...especially since the Taurus in that caliber can be had in both 2" and 4" barrel. From the 4" tube, eight of those CCIs would put a significant hurt on somebody with extremely low recoil. If my arthritic granny needed a CCW piece, the Taurus .22Mag in 4" would be something I'd consider for her
.
Jim