Would the US benefit from a smaller Supreme Court?

A number of news reports (Constitution Daily, Huffington Post, Washington Monthly, The Federalist to name a few) have indicated that, no matter the outcome of the Presidential election, there may still be a stalemate on Supreme Court nominations. The number of justices on the Court is set by tradition, not by the Constitution. There has been some talk from Republicans concerning the possibility of reducing the number by attrition, that is, refusing to confirm nominees until the number of justices is less than nine.

What do you think of a smaller court to decide constitutional issues?