You could do a savory bean dish with the slaw, or spicy-savory, depending on your preference. Corn on the cob is always a winner--grilled (my preference) or boiled, with butter, lime-butter, chipotle mayo... . I like potaotoes with brisket--mashed, roasted, oven-'fried'--whatever. Though I often do some sort of sweet potato with pork I like them with barbecued beef as well, particularly if well-spiced (chipotle is great with sweets as is garlic, thyme and lime). I tend to like more savory stuff with brisket (with most things actually), especially if one of the sauces is on the sweet side which is often the case. I'm inclined to sweeten Q sauces more with fruit than with much of the typical sweeteners although I do use them. Some sides and sauces I've done:
roasted red pepper mashed potatoes and sauteed collards with grape tomatoes (w/a KC-style sauce and a roasted garlic jus)
ranch beans, grilled corn on the cob, jicama-cabbage slaw, black pepper biscuits (w/a Jack Daniels-pineapple-molasses-coffee sauce and a lime-jal-cilantro crema)
fried potato-corn-red pepper-chive cakes, sauteed celery with currants, cream biscuits (w/homemade ketchup made with currants and Morello cherries)
garlic-lime rice, roasted calabaza with garlic and ginger, jal-cilantro black beans, pineapple salsa, homemade tortillas (w/a KC-style sauce made with sour orange juice instead of vinegar pretty much and a mixed citrus-yogurt cream)
My tradition is to not be very traditional I suppose.
