I agree with you. The fact is that there are many and varied practices out there that are the product of change fatigue and 'self-help' solutions to perceived risks.
It's obvious that most pilots out there either don't have much of clue what the in-vicinity broadcast rules are, or interpret them in many and varied ways. One pilot's risk assessment results in him or her making 15/10/5/crosswind/downwind/base/final/clear calls, another just joining a straight in approach and saying nothing, in similar circumstances. Some people consider more talk equals more safety, others less talk equals more safety.
As I say, I don't care much what the system is, provided everyone understands it. Wouldn't it be great if we could achieve that, just once, for a period greater than a few years.