I definitely agree with everyone in here saying they're a bit too different to compare, although they've both attracted an edgy teenage audience. Personally I prefer The Smiths -- fed my whining as a pretentious high schooler.

onyl recently got into the smiths. I like them a lot, but they miss a punch sometimes. I would find it very interesting to see them experiment with more electrical, maybe even industrial sounds. Overall Smiths are better but Joy Division did eventually turn into New Order so...