Dazbo, you wouldn't expect a 3/2 hornpipe to sound like a Waltz or Mazurka mainly because it's too slow, and because the beats are subdivided so much. In fact you could say they have 6 beats, but if you write 6/4 that's usually taken as meaning 3 + 3, and 3/2 hornpipes are much more like 2 + 2 + 2.

In general, all tunes in the same time signature don't sound like each other and aren't interchangeable for dance purposes, or at least they don't work so well, because there are numerous differences like how each beat is emphasised, or in the grouping of multi-bar phrases.
For example, even at the same speed, a Waltz, a Mazurka and a Minuet are all in 3/4 but with experience you can tell which is which because of those differences. Some are:

* Waltz - strong emphasis on 1st beat, secondary emphasis on third beat
* Mazurka - end of 4 and 8 bar phrases have a strong 2nd beat, tend to use dotted rhythm like hornpipes (not always).
* Minuet - groups of 2 bars, 2 bars, 4 bars

These characteristics don't necessarily contradict, which is why sometimes you can use one type of tune in place of the other.

Now look at polkas, reels, rants, marches and hornpipes and work out why you can usually tell them apart even though they're all in 4/4. And then work out why some of those are interchangeable and others aren't. I don't know all the answers but it's an important part of being a good dance musician.

Anahata
(yes, I know polkas and marches are often written in 2/2 or 2/4)