I am of the pragmatic sort .. The JAA rule demanding flights on the same type never made sense to me .. Why shouldnt 3 landings in an R22 count for a pax flight with an R44 ? This is however now lifted by EASA for non-complex helicopters.
I personally think flying for half an hour and one landing should suffice to fresh up, doing 3 circuits at night at my home base is extremely difficult because circuits at night are prohibited due to noise abatement.
As for the IR: I can partly see where they are coming from, but it probably still makes sense to fly at night every once in a while. At least that is what I'd do for myself.