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BM2:
I can't make an argument that one is "better". It seems to me that nickel cleans up easier in the tumbler. Neither one is stronger, per se. I'm not sure that nickel is "harder" either, and it appears to me that nickel cases resize easier (at least straight wall nickel cases).
However, as pointed out by SW earlier, I have always found that nickel cases split sooner than brass. I'm not sure if the nickel plating keeps the brass from stretching like it should ... or if the "pickling" (acid etch) of the brass prior to nickel plating weakens the case.
Regardless, there are many opinions on who makes the best brass. I no longer buy factory rounds, I just by new, unprimed brass from Starline and I have been perfectly happy. I have also had good luck with Federal and Winchester, but not so good with Remington. But others have great luck with Remington, so it may be a case/reloading die/revolver chamber combination that makes it work or not work.
Yes, you can mix brands of cases, and you are unlikely to see any meaningful accuracy difference. But it is a good idea to keep your brass segregated by the number of firings. That way, if you notice a split case in a batch, you know that they all have been fired the same number of times and it's probably time to retire them. Keeping the lengths the same is also important to a consistent crimp, although this may not be all that important to you if you are just creating fun loads.
dogfood
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