My wife is a beef rib person too. She refuses to eat ribs that I didn't cook, so I guess I am doing something right. I like to cut mine first. it allows the sauce to get on every side and I get nice glazing and crust with the gas grill after the smoker. I get the idea of leaving them as a rack and I would guess that cooking them as a rack would allow the juices to redistribute better when resting. Really, I have never done them as a rack, ever in 35 years of cooking them. I get plenty of requests for my ribs..
Oh, don't take this wrong, I don't advocate that there is any one right way to do anything, there are just ways one person prefers better than others. I am also not attempting to be defensive about my way. Just stating why I do it this way. I guess I will have to try the other way so I can make an educated decision on which way I prefer. Maybe the next rack I do, I'll leave them together.
Mel