I have several different kinds of non-adhesive reflective tape and ribbon (don't ask, I like shiny things) so I figured I'd share my observations. I agree that there are different grades of quality. I have some that are super bright and seem to catch even small amounts of light, others are more dim and/or require strong direct light. The industrial variety is of course the most effective (the stuff used in safety materials and clothing). I haven't used the adhesive kind because adhesives don't tend to stand up well to heat and dust here. Instead I use the sew-on kind for clothing and gear.

Regarding visibility in smoke, I'd have to say I don't think it would be very effective. For 2 reasons:
First, in order to "shine" or "light up" the reflective strip needs light. Smoke blocks, diffuses, or otherwise interferes with a beam of light. I think the light source would have to be very strong to cause a reflective reaction on the strip *and* the strip would have to be high quality to be seen by the light source.
Second, reflective tape "lights up" white. Smoke is white or grey. Therefore the rescuer would be trying to see white "light" through white or grey smoke. I don't think there's enough contrast there to be distinguishable, which is probably why most signal lights are red (indicating emergency) or green (often perceptibly the brightest color in most EL, LED, or chemlight materials).