Is there a difference between a lot of yeast and rising a short time vs little yeast and rising a long time?
Yes, there is a lot of difference. In principle, having food prepared under different conditions while keeping some total variable the same, tend to have different outcomes - having the same outcome would be the exception, not the rule.
Yeast colonies live and metabolise differently under different circumstances - imagine how people live in the Icelandic countryside and in Hong Kong, something similar happens to your yeast.
What is most pertinent to the taste are some compounds which get built in hot, overcrowded conditions (a quick rise), but not in the slow ones. These are most notably ammonia and thiols, and some people experience them as too harsh in taste. Also, if you do a low and slow rise, you get a tiny bit of lactic and acetic acid formation, as in sourdough. During a slow rise, the texture also changes, with extra gluten formation through autolyse.
The current trend is for artisan breads to do slow rises and to have the flavor profile from retarded doughs. Quickly risen breads have a homemade quality to them, and are not perceived as very refined. It is up to you which one you prefer.