I don't actually know whether polecats (skunks) smell well, though I imagine they do, since they forage at night. They are certainly known for not smelling good, even at a considerable distance! I don't think there's much value in being a stickler about "well" and "good" in response to "How are you?" where no-one really could mistake the intent, but where the confusion is possible, it seems worth maintaining the distinction.
It seems clear enough that by 'distinction' you mean that between the olfactory sensitivity (well), and the odor (good).
But can there be room for 'well' to be for odor, and still be distinct from 'good' ?
Suppose you have aficionados of pressed flowers. The superficial observer might say that the dried thing still smells good, but the aficionado might sniff up and down just too decide if the thing actually smells well.
Robert said
But can there be room for 'well' to be for odor, and still be distinct from 'good' ?
I don't think so. Well is an adverb, so it can't modify a noun, odor. You can have a good odor but not a well odor.
But smell is both a verb and a noun, and that's the word that was used.
I think it's odd that the verb smell means both to detect an odor and to emit an odor, but it provides enough humor to persist.
Well is both an adverb and a noun. The new pump in my well is working well. But, I broke too many things to call the job I did replacing it good.