I don't know about hammers/pulls not being common. They're really effective if you've got a mandolin with some sustain to it.

I used to use HO/POs extensively, but when I bought a mandolin with great tone & volume, but a high action, & no sustain, I found they didn't work - it just wasn't audible in a public session. So I relearnt to play picking every note, and this is what I would recommend you do. It's really good discipline and very helpful in general.

However, hammers/pulls are still useful to do additional notes, what people call 'ornamentation' or 'grace notes'. I find I use this lots more in a quiet session at someone's house for instance.

It depends how you want to play. For me, in the pub, the background noise means subtlety goes out of the window and pretty much all the notes get picked. When it's a bit quiet, though, it's nice to get the more subtle style going a bit.