Dear babbler,
To use Dreamweaver you must empower yourself with the knowledge of HTML, CSS, PHP and MySQL(for a database driven dynamic site) etc. This may take time, but it will be time spend for a right cause.
Joomla is a powerful content management system which you can install easily and manage with few hassles, if you are ready to spend 6 quality hours on it. You can enhance your joomla site with flash files, image galleries etc. Many extensions are available for this.
Hoping to meet you in the cyber space soon!

mukundguruji