Great looking ribs DR. You're smokers a little leaky on the left side though.
Well I just started grilling so as of right now I tend to throw on some chicken breasts with some of my own BBQ sass. Other than that its just been some dogs and burgers.
If your only grilling and not really "smoking" anything (yet) pretty much any grill will work as your cook time will be less than an hour most of the time and not 10+ hours. However if your serious about getting into "smoking" you might want to reconsider your choices keeping in mind that a good "smoker" will be a lot more in cost.
If your only starting off and have never smoked anything and want to learn the ropes start off with a chargriller. it will work fine and will help you decide if you really want to cook food for a LONG time or not. This way your not dropping a ton of money on a nice fancy smoker that you may or may not use often.
I have a Char Griller and it's been going strong for over 7 years. I mostly smoke chicken and ribs which don't go over the 4 to 5 hour mark. I have done many butts that took 10 to 12 hours. The price is great and mine has certainly held up. On the long smoke times you do need to pay attention and keep the fire box going more than I'm sure you would if you had a much more expensive unit.
It's great for general grilling and you can buy replacement parts from their site for cheap if needed. I'm ready for a new coal grate in the main barrel but that is expected after 7 years. It's been good for me as my first smoker and easy to learn on. You can't beat the price and it's made right here in Georgia. My next smoker/grill will be something bigger and better as I'm ready to do larger quantities and up my game. It will definitely cost quite a bit more.
On the topic of charcoal. Are they all pretty much created equal? I know my brother likes using the real coal stuff. I guess it comes in a green bag and up here can only be found at a Menards. My understanding is its raw coal like what you see being transported on the trains and not turned into briquettes.