I think the actual minion method is used with smokers that have side hot boxes. I have seen them used a lot in those, and they work great. But the entire setup of our grills is different, we do not have a enclosed hot box separate from our grill area. I have used the snake method with much success on long cooks, I just got my Masters Touch 22.5 so the charcoal baskets are kind of a new thing to play with. Trust me I am driven to experiment. I can not help it, I have too.
I am trying to imitate what a Smokenator does, but without having the hot coals sitting on the side of my beautiful grill. Sure I know one day it will not matter but I want it to look good.
My advice is to try different methods, but to always have some hot coals around in case you need to throw them in, you do not need swings in temperature going on if something is not working right.
I am going try doing a beer can chicken both nights this weekend, I am trying to see about an 1 hour and a half cook and jusdge what is happening with the coals. I will keep 10 or o coals in my Smokey Joe as standby fuel.
One great thing about a forum like this is we can all post up results for others to build on.