I've seen a couple threads saying you need cure for cold smoking and no cure for hot smoking. I thought it was the opposite. I have always used cure for hot smoking my sausage.
When you say hot smoking, what temps are you talking about? If you have cure in the sausage you don't need to worry about the 41-135 rule. you can smoke the sausage at very low temps, over a long time frame, but need to get it up to about 155 IT for the finish. If you cook the sausage & get it above 135 in 4 hours you don't need cure, like you would do for fresh Italian sausage or breakfast sausage.
If your going to have the sausage or any other ground/injected/probed meat in the "Danger Zone" 41-135 degrees for more than 4 hours then it should be cured.
X2What Pops & Al & Piney said.
I like the taste of cured smoked sausage more than non-cured smoked sausage too. But that could just be me.
Bear