travel and rhum

My peers know me as "that outdoorsy runner/hiker girl" and ask me about hiking boots sometimes, and I try and deflect and avoid giving advice, because I HATE hiking boots. Now:
-I roll my ankles a lot but have never suffered from it, never had a roll that made my ankle swell or bruise or hurt, which is whack cos I trail run and hike all over rocky, uneven terrain. Idk if my thick un-ladylike ankles get credit or if it's just from doing it so often
-I want to feel the ground under my feet. I do a LOT of rough terrain and thick soled boots feel inflexible and clunky to me, like I'm trying to hike with my foot in a cast.
-I do a lot of hiking through hilly forests, small mountains (600-2000ft) with a lot of ledge but rarely cliffs or bouldering
-I'm not prone to blistering, occasionally I do on the back of my heel or achilles, if anywhere

I’m curious what people actually think of using trekking poles. Am I being an idiot for not really using them when I do hikes under 10 miles— even steep hikes? I just feel like they don’t serve me very well because I go faster when I don’t have them. But I don’t want to bust my knees up in the long run by not using them. I always bring them in the car and then ditch them last minute at the trailhead because I’ve come to find I enjoy hiking without them more. I see people on the trails with and without them so curious of y’all’s opinions!