I correspond/hang out on another web forum with a bunch of guys who LOVE those Soundcraft Ghost mixers, particularly if you've had the Burr-Brown upgrade.
These guys provide it as a service:
http://www.creationaudiolabs.com/proaudio
Here's the thing about outside vs. inside the box, in my experience: Your Ghost is going to color the sound of your mix. It's inevitable. Whether this is a good thing or not doesn't just vary from engineer to engineer, it varies from project to project.
Right now I work in a studio with a Control 24, which is just a BAM (big-ass mouse) and we mostly mix in the box there, though we have a Dangerous B-Box for summing and it gets used on some projects.
I am looking at going out on my own in the coming year, and I am (probably) going to buy a Neotek console. I will sometimes mix through the console, other times mix in the box. I think it all depends on what the project calls for. The Neotek I am looking at is known for being dark and a tiny bit "dirty." That's going to be perfect for Americana, metal, punk and hip hop. If I get a modern rock project in, or a modern country project, I am *probably* going to stay in the box and give it a modern, bright, clean mix.
As for smeary stuff happening, have you checked your pingback? I am new to Logic, but I am migrating to it so that I can have Automatic Delay Compensation. My understanding is that it can sometimes be misconfigured or not working properly. That, I would bet, could cause some smearing.
I trust that more knowledgeable persons than me can answer that more comprehensively.
gents?