Where do I start?
Smoking properly with an offset is a learned skill, smoking with a wsm is a no brainer. (Dirty smoke is NASTY, and when it comes to smoke, less is more, anyway.)
That "fat in the fire flavor" is over-rated, so you know where I stand with upright drum smokers (whether it's the BDS or my homemade version)..... with the exception of for ribs or chicken.
The aforementioned upright drum smoker is a barbecue rabbit...the wsm is a turtle. There's no way to get around the differences without the use of foil...and like myself when I first started bbqing on an offset, most folks don't cook pork shoulders long enough. If you can slice it, it's not done yet.
Moving right along...I can cook plenty of bbq for my rather large household with my little wsm. I guess that's why Weber took over 25 years before they came out with a larger one.
There's nothing wrong with plain old Kingsford. The difference is in peoples heads, not in the actual result. Lump is much better when basting directly over the coals or looking to get hotter temps, however.
The Weber water pan does not need foil unless I don't use it like originally intended for by the folks paid to design the smoker almost 30 years ago.
Even if I do a "high-temp" chicken cook with a dry foiled no-water pan, it's not near as good as grilled and basted chicken like the fabulous "Roadside Chicken" recipe off this site.
Ribs on the bottom grate are cooked best rolled and skewered. Who cares if the middle of the lower grate is a lower temp than the top grate when lower grate stuff out past the water pan cooks the fastest, regardless?
IOW, I've learned for myself, and found that not everything I read on a forum translated to real life.....some of it did, though, so it wasn't a complete waste of time!...lol...
