Note to self: forget the ceramic tile. You mean you cut a piece off an aluminum sheet? If so, what did you cut it with? I know something about using hand tools around the house and something about working on much older cars but when it comes to buying and cutting aluminum I'm in the dark there. I get the Aluminum from my Son. It comes in 12' sheets for cable tray covers for Cell towers. It's a little thicker than a credit card, and I cut it with a set of Tin Snips (Very carefully).
As I've written before, I haven't really investigated the hot spot(s) in my MES 30 but I plan to do it this year so for my own knowledge. Typically I'm a set-and-forget-it smoker except for the foiling. The hotter right side isn't as bad in an MES 30 as it is in an MES 40, because the distance from left to right is shorter in the MES 30. So you wouldn't need as wide a piece of Aluminum for a deflector in the MES 30, if you need one at all.
And you're using the MES 40 Gen 1? Yes.
Also, I haven't come across a recipe that calls for raising the temp late in the smoke so I've never done that. I've seen a couple of TV shows where chefs will smoke or grill meat and then finish it a hot kitchen oven so that they can control the final IT. I haven't done that either because I like to cook everything in one place and besides, my smoker and grill are outside and I never feel like taking that meat and walking it into my kitchen. I only do that with Chicken to get a longer time smoking, and then up to 275° to crisp up the skin at the end. You can see it in my Chicken Thighs Step by Step.
