Winchester '92 is slow to operate?
I strongly disagree. That venerable design is extremely smooth and reliable as executed by the current Browning/FN licensee, Miroku of Japan. The Marlin design works well if operated properly, but is subject to some interesting jams if short stroked, or sometimes the wrong phase of the moon.
The Marlin action is assymetrical, in that the lifter is connected to the lever by a ratchet. Forward on the lever, the snail cam slips over the lifter, but engages it on the reverse stroke. The lifter serves as the secondary magazine stop. If the cam is worn or you short-stoke, you can find yourself in a situation where the lever is locked, you have a cartridge partway into the chamber and another cartridge under the lifter. Oh Joy!
The '92 ejects the spent cartridge and lifts the next cartridge on the forward stroke. The new cartridge is chambered on the reverse stroke. The next cartridge feed from the magazine when the bolt is fully closed. The receiver is wide open, and easily cleared if there is a stovepipe or misfeed. I've never had either happen. If you short stroke, you don't feed a cartridge, but there isn't a jam. The ejector is spring loaded, and flips the shell straight up as soon as it clears the chamber. Slow or fast with the lever, the extracted shell is GONE! The rim of the cartridge feeds through guides in the receiver, rather than behind the extractor (as in the Marlin).
Both the Marlin and Winchester are well suited to CAS events. When broken in and tuned properly, both are as smooth as butter. Which do I like better? Hard to say, so I have them all. I'm a lever-action junky.
There is nothing smoother than a '73 action (toggle-link, same as '66). The action is much weaker than the '92 or Marlin, but seems to be okay for .357 Magnum or traditional pistol cartridges like .45 Colt, .32-20 or .44-40. My LGS always seems to have a good stock on hand. I don't have one, yet.