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Hmm. I live in the Southeast, which isn't as tropical as where you are but is closer than some...
I now own 3 outdoor cooking appliances (Griddle, Pellet Smoker, Charcoal Grill) and consider the last to be the most foundational and valuable of the three.
The flavor of charcoal ignited via the chimney, is unmatched, IMO. You mention jus being able to drip onto vegetables, but I prefer to skip the "casserole" effect or moisture sharing frequently. For potatoes, for example, I want them tossed in OVOO and spices and put on a baking sheet instead. Favorite stuff I use it for:
I don't know how much time and effort you spent cleaning your grill. My Weber (not the egg) requires being emptied of dust once every 2-3 cooks, depending on which briquettes I used, and a 10-second scrape-off with a steel brush. I think getting an egg would give you more smoke and insulation, but you'd lose the ability to just flip the thing over in an ash disposal area. I can't overstate how little maint and cleaning this takes compared to even broiling, where your sheetpan is going to require some soaking and elbow grease.
I got this grill when it was 15 years old and it's been 5 since, with almost no sign of degradation. Personally I think a vanilla steel grill with a cover is going to give you more bang for your buck unless you want to also be using it for smoking.
If you really don't like grill marks then this overall may not be for you, but reverse-searing a ribeye and having bacon-wrapped poppers to go with it is one of life's great joys. I personally think using a torch just misses something, and I've been told that the time for charcoal to ignite from a chimney is "Exactly one beer".
By clean I refer to rust on the grills themselves. Again, average humidity of 80%. Terrible things happen to man and machine in such an environ.
I appreciate the diminished appeal of the casserole effect, but that doesn't change the fact that exuded juices go SOMEWHERE and flaring on coals is inefficient maillard reaction to my optimization schedule. I want my flavor on my food not on my heat source, and grilled veg is additional real estate taken up when I should be focused on meats.
The charcoal flavor is what I see I am going to really miss out on, and I am trying to get something equivalent to that. My wok skills are sufficient for wok hei when stir frying , but I can't get that on steaks and that is the holy grail I am looking for.
I was suggested one of those aluminium foil mini bbq set things which is an aluminium tray with briquettes sprinkled in it, and then tenting foil over it to form a smoker. I was tempted go firmly but politely tell that friend to leave and never speak of cooking to me again, but upon reflection it might have merit.
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I'm not sure what @2D3D meant by "Weber egg", but I have something that might be described as such. The Summit Kamado is vaguely designed like the big green egg and other such grills, although instead of ceramic it's made from two layers of steel with an air gap for insulation. I can attest that cleaning is real easy - use the lever which controls the bottom vents to sweep ash into the bucket underneath, which detaches so you can dump it out.
I actually like the Summit Kamado quite a bit and it's been worth the $$$ I spent on it. But I didn't mention it in my other reply because if one is on the fence about the utility of a grill at all, a $1200 grill is probably not in the cards.
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