I'll be using shrimp and perhaps pinfish as bait. I'm not after the "bull" size fish, either. What style hook and size do you recommend?

Match the hook size to the bait, not the fish. Too large a hook on a small bait like a shrimp or cigar minnow will kill the bait faster, best to hook a shrimp in the tail. I use a 1/0 circle for small baits and as large a 4/0 for bigger ones. I mostly buy Eagle Claw, inexpensive and strong enough. I have had only 1 Eagle Claw circle hook break in the last 9 years and that was offshore on something pretty big and strong, that was a 5/0.

Spending twice the price won't land any more fish for you.