I firmly believe both techniques are useful, and honestly to me what's important is that you use whatever works best for what is being played. There are times where hammer-ons, pull-offs, and legato playing are more of what the song calls for. Simply alternate-picking those things for the sake of it I feel is unnecessary. Sure, we can all always stand to work on technique in every avenue and this is not to be ignored. But, work with what best suites the song and don't consider something cheating if it sounds the best. You honestly want to be proficient at all aspects of picking and your technique. That way, you can really recall about anything you need too to best suite the musical situation you are in.

Keep up the practicing, and don't feel like your cheating my friend. :eek: