Until just recently I never, EVER bothered with smoke grenades. I also never, EVER skipped turn 1. As for the smoke grenades there was very good motivation for NOT using them - the 80-item limit. As for not skipping turn 1 it simply never occurred to me that the REASON so many troops died on the ramp is because on turn 1 the aliens have EVERY TU available to them and all they're doing as you move is stand there waiting for you to move into view so they can start burning TU's to start burning you.
Now, with Openxcom and the ease of equipping and re-ordering soldier positions in the skyranger, my SOP is that anyone in view gets shot at, otherwise a pre-primed smoke grenade goes at the bottom of the ramp and it's "End Turn". Then step to top square of ramp, turn 90 degrees, step off, turn 45/90 more to reveal terrain to front of skyranger. Choice of movement and tactics from there are entirely dependant upon terrain and positioning of any aliens in view. However, someone STILL always has to move to the front landing gear because they WILL move there and you won't see them standing behind the rear landing gear even if the FOW is cleared. Always check those corners, people.
I feel no guilt in countering the games unjustifiable blindness of your troops to ALL knowledge of the terrain around your craft as it lands, much less aliens standing in the open waiting to shoot at you. By simply burning turn 1 and allowing the aliens to use up their TU's in movement before MY troops are forced to step, blind, into the open fields of reaction fire I feel things balance out to what they should be.
