I heard that Taurus were on the lower end of the quality spectrum... Is this still the case? I love their designs.
In the interest of full disclosure: I own several Taurus revolvers and no S&Ws.
But from everything I've read on the internets, there are people who love Taurus, and people who "hate" them.
It's really all about what you want. I have had a good expereince with all of my Taurii. Several folks have not had good experiences. But some would say the same could be said of S&W (or any manufacturer). Taurii come with Lifetime Warranties, FYI. I don't know about Smiths.
Here is how I look at it (IMHO YMMV):
Taurus = middle-of-the-road quality work, reasonable pricing, no name recognition/pride factor
S&W = higher caliber work, higher pricing, name recognition
If you got the $$ for a Smith, go for it. If not, and don't want to put down that kind of money, get the Taurus. Many folks have put thousands of rounds thru both with no problems.