I have been shooting .44 for decades, and not just a couple boxes here and there each year, but ordering Starline brass by the thousands.
The punchline is that I have formed a few opinions, and observations. They are merely opinions though.
If someone is speaking in absolutes...., well that says a lot about them...
As far as I am concerned, I think the Apex of S&Ws was the period of hammer mounted firing pin, pre-mim guns, that had the endurance packages. Some of the MIM stuff is actually quite good though, and I don't stress about it at all though.
Here are some things I have noted:
For an N Frame, there is no reason to go below a 4" barrel. By far the most comfortable way to pack is on a belt, and you gain nothing going shorter than 4"s, but increase muzzle blast, reduce sight radius, etc.
4" guns pack easiest on the belt.
6" and 6.5" guns are generally easiest to shoot well with iron sights. They are a good bit tougher to carry on a belt holster though.
The middle ground, aka "Goldilocks" is the 5" N Frame.
The 5" N Frame packs almost as easy as a 4" for getting in and out of trucks, hiding under jackets, etc, yet has a long enough sight radius that it is an easy gun to shoot well.
I have yet to find a better all around barrel length than a 5" barrel for an N Frame. I have also noted that most of the more experienced N Frame shooters tend to roll this way as well.
I currently have 3 N Frame .44s. They seem to grow on a person.