I like to put in half barley and half lentils (brown) to the cholent, i think it really adds to the texture, and the flavor too.
a sweet potato can dissolve, it gives the cholent a pastier feel too
meatwise, lamb is the way to go! you can get breast of lamb for about 4 or 5 bucks a pound, it’s a fatty cut, and it’s also very bony, so the membranes and stuff dissolve into the cholent while cooking
one very important thing in my opinion: DON’T put in barbucue sauce or ketchup. i too used to a staunch advocate of the dark side, however, i found that, if you can’t get enough flavor from the meat itself, than it’s not worth adding