Yes, it should be equal to or superior to the 9mm, powerwise, in most loadings. There's a much wider variety of bullet shapes and weights available in .357 - shapes that are better at expansion and such - since it doesn't need a certain shape to feed properly into the chamber.
As for how good it is to carry... one of the easier-to-shoot .357 revolvers (compared with a snubby .357, which is by all accounts a gun that kicks like field artillery), a 4" barrel K-frame Smith, is about the same overall length as a 5" barrel 1911. When I'm wearing a cover garment, I'm wearing that 4" S&W K-frame in .357. I'm able to strap it on and leave it for several hours, and it doesn't seem bother me.