My question is this ... do cc mind if pax engage them in conversation (NO - not trying to pick them up).
That really depends on each individual person, their workload (now and what needs to be done soon), how the flight has been, if they are tired etc! I personally usually love chatting with pax (every now and then you just a bit of quiet time) and can usually find a topic to chat about.
As much as we bitch and moan about them sometimes, as someone has already said 99% of pax are great and you meet some really great people!