Smoke n' Mirrors - WE are Getting Flashed by MIB by SwanSong

First time theory poster, apology for a repetitive theory and all that blah, blah, blah disclaimer stuff...

I will begin by disclosing that I am among the crowd of viewers who does not feel comfortable with the abundance of theories that claim the off-island or ALT story line will become the epilogue of our dear show. I feel this way mainly because I think it's almost too obvious (something Damon and Carlton have never been before), and it's a bit too fantasmic/cheesy for me to buy. [There is, by the way, plenty of room on my bandwagon if you want to jump on]

For those of us that feel this way, the difficulty comes in trying to guess what this ALT could actually be. Considering the brilliantly twisted mind of our writers, theorizing about ALT is similar to shooting fish in a barrel the size of the South Pacific.

So here's my best shot as of right now, and it starts with what we know plus what we are being led to believe about Smokey:

1. He is trapped on the island, and his goal is to "go home".
2. He apparantly needs buy-in from all island inhabitants, may possibly need them all dead (or at least all candidates), and may possibly not be able to kill them directly if they are a candidate. (dang rules)
3. He has used illusion in the past as a means to manipulate. (for example: appearing to Ben as Alex)

Given the nature of our "beast", I believe the ALT is nothing more than an illusion created by him, which he will use to convince our candidates to willingly remove themselves or each other from the equation. I know this has probably been mentioned before, but let me try to make this idea more complete...

I can visualize a scene where MIB appears as Smokey to one of our candidates, does his little "flash dance", and shows them their life that could be in ALT. He is their gateway to that happier ending, and the only eventual hitch is the sacrificing of their present life on the island (they gotta die). I believe this is what he has already done to Sayid to make him a willing hitman once again.
I think it will be a fairly easy sell for MIB throughout the season, considering he is dangling a pretty big carrot for each of them, their current situations are super-bad and he can easily paint Jacob as a manipulative A-hole.

(to settle a concern, the reasons I believe the ALT timeline isn't completely perfect for everyone; ie: wheelchair Locke, non-married Sayid + Nadia, etc; is because A) the "scans" Smokey used to learn our character's stories and desires may not be 100% complete, B) we haven't seen the ALT story fully developed yet, and C) the writer's wouldn't make it that obvious.)

Essentially, WE the audience are being shown this ALT, almost as if WE were the ones looking into the bright, flashiness of our Smokey friend. We're being flashed, people! But no matter how good the writers will make it for our beloved characters over yonder, I will not be sold. I refuse.

One last thing: could it be that our sweet, "un-ruley" Desmond, may serve as the kink in MIB's ALTland? Maybe his purpose is to help guide and remind our Losties of their island journey, in almost a constant kind of way. Maybe we will see him intertwine himself in their ALT, and then maybe he'll find his way back to the island, and in doing so will cause a big fat light bulb moment for at least one remaining person...

I could add many more details, but we'll start here, cause this thing is long enough.

Looking forward to feedback on my first posted theory!