Take the 28 between Setcoah and the Tail. The 73 and 441 are very pretty roads but the pace is leisury.
Do not under any circumstances go on the tail or the 441 during a week end. The first one is filled with poor drivers that want to kill you (and are likely to actually succeed), the second is filled with soccer moms and minivans that stop every 2 miles to watch yet another deer sight; yuo can't pass, it's basically a giant traffic jam in the forest.
Make multiple runs of the actual tail, it is a hard to master road, you won't enjoy it as it should the first time. The better times are in the morning when its empty. Do not drive like a madman, it is a dangerous road, for real. There are a couple of off-camber turns where understeer gets you right off a cliff! Stay on your lane, and watch out for corner cutters. Come with a full tank, there is no gas stations between Talahassee and Setcoah. LEO are very often present at the overlook and at the Chillowee lake. Do not get distracted by the photographers, a lot of people crash because of target fixation on the photographers or trying to do stupid shit to look good on the picture.
Cheerokee and the Harras casino are nothing special, if you are not like a passionate gambler, just forgo it and camp in the national park with a tent or something.
BTW, the Blue Ridge Parkway is also very nice and scenic (also leisurish). It would add significant time to your travel, but if you can pack it in yuo won't be disapointed.
Enjoy
