A couple things now that I found this thread...
I grow my own corn... this way, you can choose the variety & type. There are many that are just not grown commercially, and 99% you won't even find at a roadside stand or farmers market. They are much, much sweeter than the shipped or trucked in Supersweets, not to mention fresher.
Modern corn breeding brings you the best of both worlds--the tenderness of Sugar enhanced types with the sweetness of Supersweets--all on the same ear. Look for "TripleSweet", "synergistic", and "TableSweet" types.
For Triplesweet types, my favorites are Honey Select for a yellow, Avalon for a white, and Serendipity for a bi-color. Honey Select is an All-America Selections Winner (AAS.)
For SuperSweets, my favorite is How Sweet It Is, a white. It produces big ears with blunt rounded tips. Often you get two per plant.
Be sure to read directions on planting, some cannot be planted near others or they will cross-pollinate & the results will be starchy, like field corn or "cow corn."
Always grow corn at least 4 rows wide to get best pollination, unless you want to hand pollinate them. Each silk requires a grain of pollen from the tassles to pollinate and give you a kernel. Improper spacing or # of rows leads to poor pollination, which gives you ears with blank spots on them.
Try eating some triplesweets raw in the garden. Honey Select is so sweet raw you will think it's candy.
To tell when corn is ready, feel for kernel fill and pull back husks slightly to expose kernels; ***** a few kernels with your fingernail and see if liquid is clear or milky. Milky is best ripe. Clear is too soon or too late.
There's no need to soak corn in sugar water if you start with something really sweet in the first place!
As to smoking, today I made a small, leaner ribeye roast and forgot about the corn until an hour or so before the roast was about ready to remove. I went out back and picked a few Bravado triplesweets, (first time growing this one!) pulled the husks back, removed the silks and rolled the cob in room temp butter, then rolled the husks back closed. I placed them on the empty top rack in the smoker.
This was the first time I smoked corn and they came out great! I pulled the roast at about 130 degrees and left the corn and Wicked Beans smoking until I had the roast rested and cut. I pulled the husks open but did not remove them--they added smoke flavor to the senses by smelling them each time the cob was raised to my mouth!
Hope this helps!