I guess it makes for a good discussion, but I don't get love or hate when talking about a caliber. Being a "nut", my approach is usually "all of the above", and I do load and shoot .357 mag, .41 mag, .44 mag, and, oh yeah, .45 Colt. For me, it's the combination of revolver, caliber, and the specific load that makes a gun a pleasure or a pain to shoot.
My 44 is a Redhawk, and it is a pleasure to shoot with any load. I wouldn't buy a 41 RH. I have never fired the Super Blackhawk, but I understand Ruger used a steel frame more for the weight than the strength to tame some of the 44 mag recoil. The standard BH is a bit lighter. And I know the standard BH with a thermonuclear 45 load is a knuckle buster. I usually load it lighter, and I have the odd belief that it is sacrilegious to load other than cast in the Colt. The 41 Blackhawk is just right. Full house load of 210 JHP is still fun to shoot, and the pistol is just light enough for me to carry comfortably. So, in combination, I like it.
Regards the "special" rounds, of course 38 and 44 Special pre-date the magnums by several decades. No, there was not a 41 Special back in the day, but there was the .41 Long Colt. Unlike the others, it could not keep going with its choice of heeled or sub-bore hollow base bullets. But Elmer liked it, and in a strong Colt Army Special, it sends 200 cast out at 800 fps.