I use my thrusters in combat, do you?

TL,DR: I feel that using thrusters helps me maximize my time on target and shorten time to reacquire. is this true? if not thrusters what are you doing?

So I've put together some mid-range second-hand stuff and fly 2 sticks, throttle, and rudder pedals. the left stick I have set to up/down and Left/Right thrust. When in combat (CZ, and Bounty don't do AX yet) I only move the throttle a little (but not much) to change my turn speed and mostly use the thrusters to change my turn arc. IOW, my left hand jumps back and forth a little but primarily lives on my left stick. I've come to believe that it helps me stay on target longer to stay at a constant speed and use my thrusters. Now, I'm not talking about getting back on target (altho I think it helps a little then too); I'm talking about being on target and keeping my target in front of me.

My questions are: Does anyone else do this? Am I actually helping myself here? If you don't do this, how are you modulating your relative position to maximize your time on target? Are you even doing that or just doing constant attack runs (shoot, realign, shoot)?

In case your curious when else I use that left stick: Mining (I don't even touch my throttle and have a POI set for my forward/back thrust); takeoff/landing; select missions and Signal sources (like disable turrets)