Just went through doing similar research as you, ended up concluding that there's too many out there to pick from all with pros and cons, and none in the "inexpensive" category that I wasn't going to end up doing some work on. My answer was the wife getting tired of the research and talk (and I think getting worried I was going to spend way too much), so she went and bought one off my list for my birthday.
She ended up getting the Brinkman Trail Master Limited Edition (although not sure what's so limited about it) from Home Depot, good reviews for the price and convenient for her to pick up (btw - 2 smokes in and I really like the smoker). Really the only advice I can offer is read through the reviews on here for different models in your price range and pick the one that feels most like you.
As for mods, so far I've done the basics on mine (lowering the smoke stack, homemade baffle / tuning plates, RTV seal when putting it together, a couple of good thermometers at grate level, and a charcoal basket) and it's working out well. All said and done, I've probably put less than $100 into the mods and a couple of weekend afternoons worth of time in - so it's really not all that bad).
