Regarding cleaning:
With both gun types, you don't have to take apart the hammer/trigger/mainspring "action" area. You do need to clean the barrel, obvious crud inside the frame window, wipe down the outside and clean the cylinder.
On a DA, you swing the cylinder out to do all of the above. On an SA, hit one button to slide the cylinder base pin (the "axle" the cylinder spins on) forward. Open the loading gate, the cylinder drops out to the right.
This takes maybe 10 seconds with practice and is the only extra cleaning step on the SA. (There are optional aftermarket base pins with a retaining screw you'd have to back out to allow the cylinder to drop out - these are recommended for stout loads to keep the pin from jumping.)
On reload speed: dropping the empty shells is the part of the reload process that takes the most time. One way to deal with this is to use relatively low-pressure rounds and a big bore (44Mag loaded light or 45LC) and polish the cylinder bores to a high gloss. With good nickeled cases, you can open the loading gate and spin the cylinder, watching rounds drop free.
With higher-pressure loads (357Mag, 44s at full power, 45LC+P, etc) each one will need a bit of a push.
