Only Flap 35 (full flap) landings can tend to be flat due to the low pitch attitude approach angle. This is exacerbated if too high a speed is flown over the threshold, and not enough power is taken off in the flare. I don't think nosewheel first landings are very common, but you do see a fair few flat landings with Flap 35. From reading comments above, it would appear different operators have different philosophies on flap setting on a rough day. Whilst I found Flap 15 to be more comfortable and feel more stable in high winds, Flap 15 had a much smaller margin to tailstrike so Flap 35 was almost always the choice on a rough day.
I don't think I suggested that anyone try to fly a Dash 8 at exactly Vref + 7.5kts but that is the official additive, based on one operators approved SOPs. I have absolutely no idea how flying 7 or 8 knots above Vref "is the sort of mentality that causes heavy landings". You would tend to reduce to Vref over the threshold and (again as per the manual) land at Vref -6 or -7 with power levers at idle. What I have just described is as per the book. In practice I think it's difficult to attain this theoretical landing technique. Especially on a day like that in AMS. It always ended up as a delicate balance between getting the pitch and power correct to touch down in the right place at the right speed, without making anyones teeth fall out or floating down the touchdown zone. I very rarely landed with idle power. It is an awkward machine to get on the ground, but as you say an application of power will very quickly arrest a sink rate on short final.