I've tried about every solvent you can find and mixed up some Ed's once. IMO, the absolute best bore solvent is Butch's Bore Shine. It removes copper and won't harm the barrel like Sweets can. You can soak a barrel for as long as you want in it. It has mild ammonia salts in it and does a good job dissolving copper. I only use it on my barrels when I see copper streaks since it is twice the price of Hoppes which works fine for powder residue.
Bore snakes are great for getting out any loose residue after shooting. You could pull a rope through your barrel all day for every day of your life and will just wear out ropes. You can also remove the brushes from the bore snake if you want. There is nothing in a bore snake to force dirt against the barrel so it can't hurt it. For the same reason, it won't get it shiny clean. You put much more wear on your barrel by pushing a cotton patch through on any jag.......and that isn't much to worry about. Bronze is also softer than any barrel material and it will take lots of years to begin to see any wear from brushes unless you really overdue it. Most of the problems with brushes are caused by the metal middle part that the brush is made from. If you don't keep a brush centered, you can put a scratch in the barrel or crown.
You just need to find the cleaning cycle that works for you and your guns. I only get out the solvent when there is a need but I field strip, wipe down, and relube my guns after every shooting or 300 rounds (or so).