Let's talk physics...
When you heat up water you make steam
When you heat up wood you make smoke
Water starts steaming at 212°F
The wood doesn't start smoking until it hits >400°F
In my opinion, the water delays the start of smoking until the steam is gone.
People soak wood chips because they can't control air flow. The wood then ignites because of high heat and lotsa air. Wetting the wood gives them the false impression that they are getting the wood to last longer, but it is really just delaying the onset of smoke by keeping the temperature of the wood lower than the smoking point.
My advice:
If you can control airflow just put the wood on the fire (maybe minion style)
If you can't control air:
Make a "smoke infuser": essentially a 4" black pipe with drilled out end caps. It creates an oxygen starved environment. Stuff it full of wood chunks. Throw it on top of your fire. It gets hot, wood smolders but doesn't ignite. When you are done you end up with a pipe full of charcoal.
Worst case make a foil pouch, but they can burn up and you don't want to eat a bunch of barbecue that has around vaporized aluminum foil.