Peter I know what you mean however i think the test your suggesting is not really representative of what happens when the rig is actually being used.
The problem is that your test is with the weight being slid along a stationary length of line. In that case the narrower "neck" or thickness of the swivel eye will cause more resistance as the lead on it is pulling the line into a tigher "V" than it does with a thicker walled bead which spread the load over a greater area. The impression being that the bead gives less resistance.
However in the water thats not what happens...in that case the line is pulled through the swivel or bead with the lead in situ (or semi situ, it may move a bit depending on the size of the lead)
Not sure if I am describing that well enough but hopefully you see what I mean.
Basically to put it another way a more representative test would be to put the lead on the floor and then pull the slack line through swivel or bead. My guess is that you wont notice any difference between the two however I bet that if someone was able to measure it in a laboratory the bead would actually impart more friction/resistance on anything other than a perfectly straight pull because it would have more surface area for the line to pass over. This is of course assuming the swivel and bead both had equally smooth finishes, else that would skew the test.
...I think !
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