I used the snake method in the Assassin 48. It worked if I was going low and slow, but I had to keep the water pan in place. Because I couldn't keep enough water in it, the pan buckled and twisted, and that made it hard to pull it out of its racks.
I love the "set and forget" feature of the 560 as well as the ability to control the amount of smoke I get.
As far as grilling goes, if you let the grates get to temp, you will find that it's pretty much like "direct grilling". You can certainly sear steaks beautifully at 600 degrees.
My go to smoker is the 560 - for high-temp grilling my go to grill is the 560.
My only regret I have is that the 1050 was not available when I made my purchase.