I use and love Royal Oak, its the only briquette I use. It smells great and does not have the chemically taste/smell of KBB. It burns a little cooler, burns longer and produces less ash than others I have tried. Most importantly to me it makes less smoke as the unlit briquettes ignite. I think it is ideal for snake or minion method because the food and wood smoke flavors comes through versus the charcoal. I can keep a much more stable temp easier with it, but, I tend to do try to keep lower temps. I do notice I need to add more charcoal or start with a few more lit ones if I want higher temps. I use it for open top grilling, but, I do not think it is ideal for open top grilling because it does not get quite as hot for fast searing,
It is really not comparable to a quality lump charcoa(like Royal Oak lump)l however......that's something entirely different to me. They burn much hotter, are less consistent and burn cleaner IME.