One of my favorite recipes for direct-over-charcoal is Cornell Chicken. That recipe is for the grill, but I do it direct in my WSM (as that’s how the original recipe was–Dr. Baker instructed that the chicken be grilled directly something like 22" over the fire source. (I can’t remember the exact number.) Anyhow, the WSM works great for that, as would your drum smoker.
pulykamell is exactly right–if you get ten BBQers in a room and ask for the best way to smoke meat you’ll get ten different (and sometimes wildly different) techniques. Pan or no pan? Charcoal or lump? Vertical or horizontal? Inject or not? Foil or not?
Which I think leads to pulykamell’s other point: outside of a few bounds it’s really hard to ruin food with a smoker. All those techniques gives you an excuse to try them all out and eat the results!
I tend to go simple*: no pan; no injection or foiling; hardwood lump. Once I put the lid on the smoker I don’t open it again until I’m testing to see if it’s done.
*-with the caveat that I like to build my own equipment.
I have a question about using sand - what do you do with all that greasy sand? I’d love to try it with my new WSM (especially this winter), but I don’t exactly have a back 40 I can toss it in.
I guess I could just toss it out with the used coals and ash. I just answered my own question, didn’t I?
Oh, sorry, I should have explained that. I wrap it up with Reynolds heavy duty aluminum foil and then toss the greasy foil after it cools. I don’t keep refilling the pan with sand. It’s the same load of sand that’s always been there. Just make sure the sand pan is well lined with the foil, and fold it up and over and toss it when you’re done with it.
ETA: Photos 12 & 13 here and the text underneath should explain it better if my explanation is confusing.
To answer: Either. Either. Either. Generally no. In certain situations. 
All those are perfectly good techniques that every barbecuer should know, as they yield noticeably different results. I use all of those except for injection, but generally, my technique is no injections, no foil, vertical smoker (because that’s all I have.) As for pan or no pan, charcoal or lump, I mix that up a bit more. I’m probably 50-50 these days on charcoal vs lump, and 80-20 for pan vs no-pan. It depends on what I’m doing.
Now parboiling ribs, there we may have a more heated discussion. 