If Taurus was the equal of S&W, Taurus could charge S&W prices (and sell everything they made).
Those of us who have owned both (and in many cases, multiple examples of both) have found that S&W builds a consistently high-quality firearm, at a premium price. They support their products with near-flawless Customer Support, and will fix just about anything, just about any time from purchase to 100 years on, free of charge, in a timely manner, and they pay for shipping both ways.
Taurus builds a decent product at (what used to be) a bargain price. Their QC is, ahem, a variable (to put it kindly) and their Customer Support is a bigger variable (some will say, a joke). You will pay to ship your Taurus back the first time, and often you will pay to ship it back a second and third time....for the same problem. After the first time, you are already upside down.
Do yourself a favor...spend some searching and you will find that this is not me saying it...it is many Taurus owners saying it.
Bottom line: Taurus quality equal to S&W?
No. Not on a good day, not on any day.
You may get lucky and get a good Taurus. Or you may have a far more common experience, and join the legions of posters here and elsewhere bemoaning their Taurus experience...
Caveat Emptor.