I am just the opposite. I think the slab sided barrels on the Pro and PC series to be uglier. And yes, I do own a 627-5 Pro and it is a fine shooting weapon and one of my favorites to bring to the range. But I prefer the aesthetics of the older barrels as used on the Model 27 guns. But the slab sided barrel's looks didn't stop me from buying the 627 Pro either.

As for the P&R guns, I think the fit and finish on them tended to average better than the new revolvers. And the recessed cylinder definitely has a much better aesthetic appeal to me as the gap between the recoil shield and cylinder is much narrower and looks better in my opinion. But functionally there is no advantage to the recessed cylinder.

I now own 5 of the 6 model 27s I've bought in my life. Four of them are 27-2 guns. I had a 27-3 that I gave to my daughter and I also have a 27-5 that actually has a recessed cylinder and was produced around 1990. It was part of a collection called "12 Revolvers" and S&W actually had to make recessed cylinders for that run of 500 guns for the model 27 in the collection. And they weren't just leftovers from the old P&R days as they used the longer cylinder stop cut of the -5 guns. So it is a rather unusual gun of that period. It doesn't have a pinned barrel however.