Jeremy, I would go with your second option, and forego the brisket. Smoked pork butts and ribs are always a crowd pleaser, are cheaper and go a long way. I would smoke 2 good size Boston butts (8-10 lbs ea) the day before, double-wrap in HD foil, let cool and store in the fridge overnight. On party day, put 8 racks of ribs in the #3 in the morning. Put the wrapped butts in the oven to reheat on low about 2 hours into the rib smoke. By the time the ribs are done, but pork butts will be good and hot, and ready to pull. Use one of those large food service foil pans and pull both butts. I use another for the ribs...slice them apart an put them in the foil pan. Folks can choose their meat, and that should be plenty for 25 people, with sides and deserts. The 2 pork butts should yield around 12 lbs of pulled pork, which will look like a ton in the big foil pan!