Is there a way to stop processing once the message is seen as spam? Version 2.6 had the -S option, but that no longer works.
No, that feature has been dead since at least 2.30. The flag may have been accepted, but it's been dead for a LONG time.
The problem is it causes FPs unless you re-order the rules so all the negative-scoring rules run first. Doing that causes SA to have to scan the body twice, negating any speed and all benefit to the -S option.