Except on a perfectly smooth race track or freshly paved road smaller wheels will be slower.
However, your other point about keeping up with fast DF road bikes will really depend on your recumbent's weight and how well you can climb on it. I climb faster on my DF road bike than any bent I have owned. If I was racing myself I'd drop the recumbent me on the climbs and I would not lose enough time on the flats/descent to make up for that. If we are talking a group of DF road bikes in a paceline that would be doubly true.
If you want to stick with fast DF bikes get a light recumbent with big wheels and make sure you are able to climb well with it. If you can get ahead of the flats do it so you have a bit of a cushion for the next climb. The problem with this is that you end up not riding with the DF bikes very much which might be what you are after. It is just hard since the two types of bikes have different strengths & weaknesses.