I used to believe that a full size with a 4 inch barrel was the perfect all round gun for new shooters. after witnessing too many people cheat them selves by only using it in single action mode, and not becoming proficient in reloading, I have come to the conclusion, that there is very few benefits to a revolver, out side of hunting applications. that being said, I own quite a few of them and really like them. at a recent IDPA match, I used my trusty GP100 for grins. the short comings of a revolver, and my efficiency with it became painfully obvious. I still would have used it, if I were to do it over again, but, the striker fired pistols are so much easier and more efficient to run. I know I could have cut my times in a third with out giving up anything. if I had more time in on a revolver I could have done better, but never better than I could run a semi auto with the same amount of time into it. I also think that revolvers really do require more trigger time to achieve timely reloads, that is their greatest dis advantage.
I still love them, and carry them, but that match really made me realize how much better I am with an auto. the double action trigger is one of those things that a person just needs to practice, my accuracy actually impressed me, considering how little I have done lately, but a lot of people don't practice double action shooting as much as they should. If you get a revolver, learn to shoot it in double action mode, and practice reloading under pressure. stay away from the snubbies. A steel framed 3 inch barrel is the smallest I would go. get a 357 mag, and run it with 38's to get comfortable with it. it will serve you well. it just takes more training than it would appear. by the way, in that match, I still beat a couple of auto shooters. so that was cool.
One more thing. revolvers in my experience are not any more reliable than a quality pistol. Pistols when they malfunction are a lot easier to get going again. a revolver on the other hand, lets just say that's a good reason to carry a back up.