Meh...it's not about the cooker or fuel. I've had BBQ cooked on pellets that was nasty. It's not harder to compete on any particular method. Each has its own difficulties and you still deal with the same issues regarding picking meats, rubs, sauces, temps, presentation, etc. In some cases, it's actually more difficult to get good smoke flavor out of pellets...you can't just toss an extra block of wood in the smoker to get a stronger flavor.
If you're against pellets for the reasons you mention, you should also be against people who light their fuel using a propane torch, those who inject, anyone who wraps with foil, stokers, mojobricks, or any other method that's "straying too far from flavor and the actual aesthetics of the meat" as you put it.
For what it's worth, I use both pellets and charcoal in competition. I cooked pork, ribs and chicken over charcoal this past weekend at Boo Bash...my chicken came in 6th and we were 3rd overall. My WSM with charcoal and an iQue is just as easy to use as my pellet smoker. Learn the ins and outs of whatever cooker you have and it becomes easy.