That's definitely a valid strategy to use! When I get messages like the ones OP talks about or ones that sound very generic, I'll still respond since they weren't rude or mean or anything; it can just be like a little cringe for me, haha. I think the very generic messages though may sometimes not get responses since some people may think you didn't read their bio/pay attention/etc. Not sure, since I usually respond regardless.

When I start conversations, I tend to try to comment on profiles if I can (which trust me, I know some people have profiles that give you very little), or just ask how their day is. I'll compliment a physical feature a little bit into the conversation, ("oh, by the way, I matched because I thought you had a great smile!") which seems to work well.