My grass grows quickly in Spring and Fall, but it takes about 20 minutes to mow it. I don't usually bother to pick up the clippings unless it's really long.
They have to or else it dies/gets overrun almost immediately. They get crispy after 2-3 days w/o water. Start dying in a week. Lawns here are a freaking nightmare to keep up.
Electric mowers and robots have fragile little blades designed to weight as little as possible because they're running on batteries. They'll be damaged or break entirely if they strike a root or rock.
I had to use a self propelled dual blade mulching power to handle the terrain and so I didn't have to spend an hour or more walking the property gathering all the pine codes and other crap that might stall out a lesser mower.
Mulching seems to be fine if you cut along the rule of third (cut less than 1/3 of the thing at a time). Even side discharge seems ok, especially as you spiral over the discharge, re-mowing it.
I used to let it grow out, but thatch became an issue. Which is why raking them up makes sense (or dethatching).
Now I cut slightly on the short side, more often, which seems to naturally favor centipede over dandelions almost anywhere there's good sun & water & drainage. Nothing really beats mowed centipede, for me; letting it grow wild invites snakes et al, and paving it would be hot.