Does one need to watch Maude in order to fully understand and appreciate The Golden Girls/Bea Arthur? It ran six seasons so it would be a big time commitment if one decided to watch.

No. I always got a kick out of Bea when she was asked which one of the characters is more like her or which one would she want to live with. Her response was: Neither. Both were annoying characters for different reasons. But that is why we loved them so :)
Both characters were sort of "know it all" types.

The characters of Maude and Dorothy were different enough that I think you don't need to watch both shows to appreciate the other. In fact, that was one condition Bea Arthur had for agreeing to do the Golden Girls. That is, that the character of Dorothy would be completely different from that of Maude. I love Bea and think she did a great job in both roles!

The characters of Vivian and Blanche were certainly different as well.Rue McClunahan's voice seemed to change when she used that southern drawl as Blanche.As Vivian she sounded like Margeret Sheridain.