my main go too is using charcoal as heat base and then adding wood, mainly live oak or pecan depending on what I'm cooking. I use a gas grill when I need something done quickly, like burgers, hotdogs, etc. but I still prefer those over hot coals. I use cast iron a lot on the stove top and in the oven... I've had friends with various types of pellet smokers that do a pretty good job but tend to not have the same flavor of smoke, at least to me. My wife really likes that type of stuff but she is not much of a smoke flavor type.

That's pretty much how I roll.

Offset stick burner all day everyday

I have a Traeger and an offset stick burner. The Traeger can't touch the stick burner in terms of quality. I smoke quite a bit of meat. The Traeger has been regulated to grilling only for a while now. It's great to throw burgers, fajitas, etc. on it. But, if I'm smoking a brisket, pork belly, chuck roast, or something like that, it's a stick burner all the way. Maybe the really high end Traegers or other pellet smokers produce enough smoke for my liking, but mine sure doesn't.

Biggest difference to me is the thickness of the smoke. Which, albeit, does result in less smoke flavor.

Traeger won't win any BBQ Competitions but Traeger can also be at temp in 15 minutes by dialing a knob... and stay exactly there for hours and hours...

The time it takes to get to temperature is exactly why I use it for grilling. I gave away my charcoal grill after I had my Traeger for a while. I do use the Traeger to smoke occasionally for short smokes. Things that smoke for under an hour like fruit, deviled eggs, and garlic. But, if I am going to smoke something for 16 hours the start time seems negligible. If I put that much time into something I want it to be perfect. Traeger can definitely produce a tender, juicy, and perfectly cooked piece of meat. But not with the flavor I want it to have.

Also, on occasion I have made pulled pork or chopped beef for family gatherings on my Traeger. I catch all the drippings from the meat, Start a small fire in my stick burner once the meat is almost ready, then after a pull or chop the meat I add the meat and juices to a pan. Then I put that pan on the stick burner for about 20-45 minutes to get a smoke flavor into every bit. That comes out really well.

So I started smoking on an Ugly Drum Smoker and my buddies offset. After a few years I thought I would "upgrade" to a Rec Tec so I didn't have to babysit the grill. The thing was built like a tank and worked, fine, but the flavor in long cooks just wasn't there. I did like it for chicken, hotdogs and the smoking steaks, but I missed dealing with live fire and the flavor that came with it. To compensate its shortcoming in flabor I bought an Akorn and a weber kettle and found myself using those more often so I sold my RecTec. I bought a small Green Mountain Grill Davy Crocket for weeknight grilling and smoking, but it doesn't get touched on the weekends. With the remaining money I'm in the market for an offset smoker.

So to answer the OP

Stick Burner
Charcoal/Egg
Pellets/Electric

I've tried them all. electric, gas/propane, pellet...nothing beats a stickburner in quality.

I have been stick burning for years. Wife bought me a pellet grill last week.
This thing can cook. I have been amazed at how good the food is that comes off of it.
Did a tri tip on Fri that was hands down the best thing that I have ever cooked. I have a pork butt on it right now

Stick burner for my smoker and gas for my grill. To me smoking meat with a stick burner takes a ton of effort, but the payoff when you get it right is awesome.

I like a stick burner, but the BGE is too easy and versatile. Over the last few years 100% of my smoking and grilling has been on various size BGE and Primo's cookers. Using a propane torch to get it up to temp makes it heat up basically just as fast as a full gas grill.