I agree that if the bbq is done right it's good without sauce. I don't mean to offend you, but that stuff you're talking about sure doesn't sound like what I'm talking about. Sounds like something you might see on a cooking show my wife would watch on PBS on a Saturday afternoon.
I've been eating bbq all over the southern half of the US, and a few places farther north, for the last 45+ years. If it's good meat (pork, not too lean) cooked right (slow over low heat) it's good plain, but even better with the right sauce. (slightly tart, kinda brownish, lots of black pepper). I'm not real particular about the sauce, I try a little before I pour it on. If I like it I use it sparingly, if I don't care for it I use just enough to slightly moisten the meat. If it has liquid smoke I set it aside and eat the meat whether it's good or just so-so
Good bbq is cooked on a pit over oak and/or hickory, and some of the best I've found is cooked on a pit in run-down little joints on the "wrong" (read black) side of southern towns. Lots of them aren't even restaurants, you just buy it at the counter and take it outside to eat. That's not to say there aren't big-time restaurants that do good bbq, there are, but if I'm in a town where I don't know a good bbq place I know what part of town I can usually find one that will be at least OK.