Hey Tom, I always discard the mire poix; to me, it's for flavoring the meat, not a side dish. Although, I really like Kari's idea, just never have used it like that! Did you notice the difference in the taste of the meat?
Another thing that strikes me is your brine time! 24 hours is a LONG time to brine a chicken, using my poultry brine! Was it overly salty? I usually do whole chicken in about 4 hours. Whole turkeys will go at least 12. Poultry just doesn't have to brine that long.
As for turkey, I, personally, never use a pan. I think it's detrimental to getting smoke to the dark meat underside, but Dave doesn't seem to mind that. I prep the bird with a brine, mire poix, and a good poultry rub (that includes all the Thanksgiving seasonings, like rosemary and thyme), and smoke it straight on the rack. The thing I like about this method is that the harder to cook dark meat is lower, so by the time the breast hits 165, it is done, too! And, it's smoked in 360 - all the way around!