Mesh has a wireless backhaul. That'll always be slower than an access point with an ethernet backhaul. If you wanna tinker around with your network settings, then access points are better for you. Access points can handle more wireless devices. One AP can handle like 50 devices or something like that.

I'd go with the ethernet cable and the access points all day if the option is there for you. you'll get way better bandwidth for devices that truly need to be wireless at all times. For your IOT stuff, quicker response time.

If all of your stuff is in google already and you not worried about privacy then I'd just go with Google Home. They have way more hardware that'll work with it and Google Assistant will be able to understand your commands easier. Siri will never be as good as Google Assistant and it's not a lot of devices that are native to HomeKit.

If you have a mix of devices, you can use Home Assistant (https://www.home-assistant.io) but I hear it requires a lot of initial setup.

I'd still post in the subreddit though