Hi Mac,
The shorter arm is ALWAYS going to be better for several reasons which always are going to be more significant than any benefit from marginal improvement in tracking error. The shorter arm is stiffer. It takes more energy to get it to resonate or looking at it from the other direction it is better at holding the cartridge still. The shorter arm has a lower moment of inertia. It follows the record more effortlessly interfering less with the cartridge. The shorter arm has a lower effective mass allowing it to work perfectly with more cartridges. You can always add more mass if you need it, but it can be very difficult to remove mass.
Some very respected turntable manufacturers like Basis and Sota do not even give you a choice. Many very smart engineers look at 12 inch arms as being foolish. If they make them at all it is only to satisfy customer demand so as not to lose business.