So I’ve had a couple pooper threads - most say Smoke is lighter but different and some of them say lighter and not as Good as charcoal n chunks. Asked about searing and many said most poopers can’t Sear Well - charcoal is Better. So a Pooper can smoke n grill but can’t do either better than charcoal . They get to smoking temp and settled in Faster but most take as long as a charcoal grill to Hit max temp for grilling (30-45 minutes) and yet poopers are getting more and more Popular...... :twitch:
I can only speak for what I have and know that not all PG's are created equal, it's not just the build quality or extra bells and whistles, some cook different than others, just like grills, charcoal smokers and stick burners.
To your 1st point and I've done cooks side by side PG and Drum, was one better than the other I don't think so but they are different, there are going to be cooks where the Drum is preferred and others where the PG gets the call and it's not because of convenience, it's because of smoke profile and what I want todo with the cook.
Grilling on the MAK with the Flame Zone will singe the hair off your hand if you are not careful, is it better than cooking direct over lump or better yet wood on a santa Maria I'd give the latter 2 the edge but hands down better than a gasser and I've cooked some pretty good steaks and burgers on a gasser too. As far as grilling temp the MAK with the Flame Zone is easily ready to rock in less than 20min which is the time it would take to light a chimney of lump.
Contemplated a long, long time whether or not to invest in a PG and my only disappointment is I didn't do it sooner. Again I can only speak for what I have but it puts out great food and everything I've cooked on it so far has been excellent. Oh and I didn't buy it for convenience because I have plenty of time to cook and the Weber Kettle or Hunsaker are set it and forget it as far as I'm concerned. As a side note I'm not using a smoke tube and have no plans on using one in the future.
I personally don't think you'll be happy with a GMG or Traeger, maybe the GMG Davy Crockett or a Traeger with a Savannah Stoker controller would get you a smoke profile you'd be happy with. It's also not like you're going in with eyes wide open, you already want to hate it, well unless you like cotton candy. :wink: