I agree with Dustin on the hinged grates as well as the GBS if you can. Thermometer isn't that critical for me but it is to others, I'm a KISS guy
Keep
It
Simple
Stupid
It's really easy to get caught up in more complicated gizmos and gadgets but, really we are talking the application of heat to food products, it's a fairly basic concept. In the KISS method that boils down to:
High heat- cook fast
Low heat- cook slow
Now everyone know just as much as I do in theory.
The application of the theory is where the art comes in. Many times less is more.
I started to have weird quirky results after I had tried some options offered by folks on threads. I have since removed pretty much everything and gone back to basics no baffles, no heat sink bricks wrapped in foil, back to nothing more than a set of the good (304) baskets and KBB. Results have returned to as near perfection as ever.
The baskets are well worth the money, get a set, your tummy will thank you for the judicious use of the indirect method.