I'm kinda enjoying all this no holds barred, brutal honesty this evening. While we're at it, could someone try to explain why Smooth Criminal gets so much seemingly inexplicable adoration? I have tried and tried again but I just don't get it. I don't think there is anything wrong with it but I bet it would rather be Dragons Fire. ; )
Let me take a stab at explaining. It's just a theory, mind you, but I think it has relevance to vaping in general and this thread in particular:
Yes, I taste a definite resemblance between Smooth Criminal and Dragon's Fire. Personally, I like them both, although I gravitate toward Smooth Criminal more often.
What I like about SC as an NET hybrid is that it's
not spectacular. Blue Grass Burley is
spectacular, but it's so idiosyncratic that I can't vape much of it at one sitting. Same with Devil Dog/Apache/London/Louisville. All amazing, but all extreme enough to be a bit much. By contrast, Smooth Criminal is definitely
not amazing. The sweet/dessert/candy elements of SC and DF (and so many similar hybrids, even those with subtle fruity components), plus the less-laser-like reduced intensity of their tobaccos places them closer toward the center of the "safer" flavor bell curve that will tend to please the majority of vapers (although not necessarily hard-core NET lovers).
This is similar to knocking back a 3 oz. double-shot straight espresso made with Ethiopian Yirgacheffe beans versus drinking an 8-ounce mocha latte made with Brazilian beans, two-thirds steamed milk, and a tablespoon of chocolate syrup. Hard-core espresso geeks will sing the praises of the "pure" Ethiopian, while soccer moms will order the mocha latte every time.
Most of us tend to have many different "people" co-existing in our brains: we are hard-core geek enthusiasts, soccer moms, little kids who want a lollipop, and adults who appreciate flavors other than sweetness, such as sourness, acidity, or pungency. Proportions of this odd mix of flavor leanings may differ significantly from one person to another, and even shift within the same person from time to time, but very few of us have only one or two of all the different identities and the characteristic flavor preferences that go with them.
Just sort of by the way, an example of a third category is Vurley, which sits roughly midway between the play-it-safe, middle-of-the-road-sweetness of SC, DF, and their ilk, and the in-your-face amazing tobacco impact of BGB, DD, London/Louisville-type NETs. Vurley has the added vanilla dessert element without sacrificing much if any of the tobacco kick. And yet, Vurley isn't merely another vanilla tobacco or burley-with-vanilla. It's so beautifully blended that it becomes a creature all its own with a unique, sit-up-and-take-notice singular flavor impact.
And so, we end up with the huge juice marketplace that we have, because flavor appreciation is kaleidoscopic and constantly shifting.
I guess there's always room for a couple more though. 
