"Am I alone in my thinking that "miners" that only consistently trade on the pink sheets are complete and outright scams?"
No i think that too. The culture in the US is rip off anyone you can for as much as you can. Combine this with a much lower level of knowledge of the mining sector and you have a recipe that is very attractive to scam artists.
There will be some decent plays that trade only on the pinks or OTC, but they really need thorough DD.
If i see a mining co list only in the US, it is a big red flag for me. There is a reason they do not want to list in Canada where it is much easier to raise capital for mining exploration.