You definitely need bends, releases, hammerons, pulloffs and slides. Imagine trying to reproduce Jimi Hendrix or Stevie Ray Vaughn stuff without showing bends...

I'm curious though - why would be be more work to do bends than the others? Usually bends show the first note and then show the final (bent) note as a fret position, with "BU" or something marked on the slur. Often tab books put brackets around the bent note. Releases work the other way around - brackets around the starting (bent) note, and "REL" or "BD" (for "bend down") marked on the slur.

Graham.