Welcome aboard. U have come to the right place to learn how to build smokers. If I were U, I would troll through the site and see what U like. Then ask a bunch of questions. Also, One of the members graciously put together a calculator about how to size the parts so that your cooker will work properly. You will find it in the main page under the heading "Calculators". Right off the bat you will need to Figure out how big of a cooker you will actually need and then, design your CC (cook chamber) to accommodate your needs. Most of the other calculations are based on the tank (CC) size. Start there, is my first piece of advice.. There is some wiggle room in the calcs, I have noticed, so if you find a deal on a piece of pipe or something else, talk it out here and the experts can usually point you in the right direction. Also, start a build thread and stay with that one thread and take a bunch of pictures and log everything in. You can see how others have logged their builds. Most, if not all possible questions and scenarios have been discussed here, so the more time U spend reading and figuring things out, the more U will benefit on your journey as a "Smoker-Builder", Most importantly but don't B afraid to ask..... I still am learning every day, and wanna keep learning til my last breath!!
Secondly, to hopefully answer your question by not answering your question,
I like the Reverse flow (RF) cookers best personally. The heat sink seems to make for a more even cook IMO, but ............., and here is the BIG BUT,
all cookers have their advantages and disadvantages, You will never get consensus on which is the best style. Its like asking who is better, Michael Jordan or LeBron Jayne, Or Kobe Bryant!! each were the best in what they did well, and are/were good at, so there. Hopefully I answered your question, by not really answering your question...HAaahaahah!
Frank has a good video that has a similar discussion if I remember correctly, and he explains things much better in his podcast, also found on the front page under "Podcasts" Again welcome aboard!