Batchbox, J-tube, or DSR2? Help choosing outdoor heater/cooker design

Hi there,
I’ve have plans to build some kind of masonry cook stove inside a 144 sq ft cabin a year or two down the road at our get-away/campsite. Likely a Walker tiny cook stove.

In the meantime, I’d like to move away from my  propane grill and pellet smoker here in town and use a rocket cooker of some kind in my backyard.

I saw Matt Walker’s j-tube rocket stove cooker/smoker with heated bench on permies’ better wood heat, “innovators” dvd. Also saw the “Ring of fire” with the batchbox that he made there.

I read through Peter van der berg’s batchbox primer and that’s where I learned about the DSR2.

So I like the idea of cooking with efficient use of materials I can scrounge around the neighborhood. I also like the idea of warming ourselves by an outdoor fire/barrel. But the primary use, realistically, is searing steaks/burgers, and grilling poultry/fish etc. for weeknight dinners (quick stove start up is somewhat important then). Smoking meats would be an occasional bonus.

Any thoughts as to whether I should definitely choose one of these stove versions over another for that intended use?

I’m planning to build the firebox with full size insulated fire bricks from Lowe’s and I can get superwool to save on labor if building a traditional riser.

I was thinking I’d go with a 5” batchbox to keep the top of the barrel at a reasonable height for cooking (according to the recommended dimensions). The main advantage I saw to the dsr2 is not worrying about cooking up high at the top of the riser/barrel (I don’t really have a way to set it under the level of the ground). But does the dsr2 provide the same opportunities for warming a bench or searing a steak/grilling where the exhaust leaves the box?

Hope I’ve framed this in a way that makes sense. Thank you for reading!

I have lots of videos on my youtube channel featuring the 4” vortex stove and the vortex 6” J tube hot plate stoves.
The J tube I have developed over several years to be an excellent hot plate and is just superb for cooking and space heating.
The 4” vortex stove is very compact and powerful but does not have the small control or consistency  of the J tube.
Please look through my channel and find lots of videos about both cook stoves.

Thank you for the response—I’m working my way through your channel now.

Do you think occasionally swapping out the solid barrel top for a grill grate would be feasible on a stove like that? Perhaps with some kind of heat baffle to spread the heat a bit?