This is the same dilemma I had been having for years. I have my own stick burner I had built from an old fuel oil drum. It is double walled and insulated with foundry insulation It also will run on charcoal or propane, comes in handy if I need to kick up the heat. My wife calls it the girlfriend because I spent so much time building and tweaking it. I learned to bbq on it mostly from lurking on this site over the past ten years (thanks guys), and have produced some pretty tasty bbq. I just cook for family and friends. However as you know you must be willing to put in a lot of effort and lose a lot of sleep, I always thought it was worth it. After a while it seems like you are the hired hand slaving over the smoker and missing the festivities, night before, day of, day after clean up.
That is why I finally pulled the trigger and purchased the amerique. This smoker does what others say, it is ease in action. Put your brisket in the night before, maybe add a little wood before bed, and forget about it till morning. I takes all the pressure off because it allows the smoking to be done ahead of time, you won’t be getting the when is it going to be done questions.
The flavor is not quite as pronounced as the stick burner but I think I notice that more than others. I am not quite sure why that is so because the smoker always appears to have more smoke than the stick burner. Clean up is a breeze remove your foil and wipe it down, ten minutes tops. You will also be willing to bbq more often and for smaller cooks. Still like to use the stick burner for large batches of ribs.