scook
Draw automation honors the grid. All you would need to do is move the nodes up/down to suit.
I'm not sure what you mean. I just checked. I have a project set to a 1/2 note snap. I used the smart tool to draw nodes in an automation lane. I am able to draw nodes anywhere and they don't snap to the grid. I can put clusters of them extremely close to each other. It's completely freehand.
I'm aware that you can make a selection that follows the grid, and then use the up/down cursor to pull down the envelope within that selection, putting nodes on either side. But sometimes I just want to draw a single node, or draw lines that snap to the grid. I cannot do that.