I have a different problem. I read all the posts from folks asking how to cook a butt or a brisket, and I can't figure out where all the angst and confusion comes from.
I had never cooked a brisket before I bought my CS about 5 years ago. I had also never eaten a brisket that was fit to eat, so I really didn't have much to base any opinion on other than just believing that all those Texans couldn't be wrong. So one day I bought a whole packer, rubbed it with Lawrey's Garlic Salt and coarse grind black pepper and put it in the smoker set at 225*. The timer went off about 18 hours later when the meat hit 195* and I was rewarded with what I later realized was a darn fine brisket. The only thing I consulted the forum about was the doneness temp, and found quickly that 195* was a good temp to work with, and I pretty much ignored everything else that tended to complicate things. All the secrets and tips and extra steps seemed like a bunch of crap to me. I have since cooked several hundred briskets, maybe a thousand even, and I still do it exactly the same way. No changes at all, and so far, I haven't had any failures at all, or even any near misses. The briskets have been extremely consistent. The only other step I take is to buy briskets from the same source all the time, Wal-Mart. There's my big secret.
Same advice for butts. Use quality meat, put it in the smoker and leave it alone until it's done. I really don't get all these fancy rubs and mustard and other stuff(coffee grounds on brisket.....Uck!). They might make a difference in comps, but if you think your local BBQ joint is lovingly rubbing their butts every night you're very mistaken as Tom alluded too.
Growing up, my family's restaurant cooked about 1 ton of shoulders a day. Every day. That's about 120-140 shoulders every day. They got coated with a family secret special rub that consisted of 1 part cayenne pepper to 9 parts kosher salt, then cooked over hickory and oak for about 12-16 hours. Must have worked okay, we were in business for over 50 years and spun off several other restaurants that are still open today. My message is to follow the KISS method. The results are consistant and the labor (you) is happier.