I don't know, TriGirl....I still cannot believe that Smokey is the good guy. As michel has noted, I think Smokey represents the devil, and he is using his powers of persausion anyway he can to tempt our hero's. The devil could appear in different shapes and personnas as well.

Smokey killed Eko, because Eko had done some very dark deeds. We saw Smokey kill many people starting with the pilot of the plane. Everyone, everyone that seems to know of Jacob and MIB, appears to be deathly afraid of Smokey, while no one seems afraid of Jacob, and all seem to follow him. They all warn our hero's that he wants to kill you all.

Jacob was the one that always expounded upon a choice and the option of free will, just as man has free will in this world and can choose.

To me, smokey is the devil in John Locke's clothing. Interesting that he is now "stuck" that way.

Interesting that when Sawyer asked what would happen if he shot XLocke in the head, and XLocke said, go ahead and find out....perhaps he would just turn into smokey again, as he was when Caesar shot him in the chamber under the statue, and he found the bullet had gone right through him.

At this point in the story, I am firmly in the camp that XLocke/Smokey/MIB is the dark force and is deadly and symbolic of evil and the devil.