I largely don't use the "by the book" MM fey. So, it isn't just you. I have tried to get my hands on "The Little People" with no luck. Do you like it? There are some Fey in Penumbra's Fantasy Bestiary, they are a tad nifty.
I enjoy the encounters you have mentioned. Very nice. I'm not sure if my players have liked their encounters with Faeries, they haven't been able to figure out exactly what is going on. As the campaign develops, I hope to bring in a bit more Fey influence.
I've used the MM Sprites plus a few scorcerer levels to give me the feel I wanted.
The MM fey are a bit sad although with a few Scorcerer levels and free use of templates anything is possible - and I love the ideas presented. The three heads are going to get some use IMC...
I love fae- I have a large 'faerieland' area imc. I have an elven subrace that's fae, lots of wild fey creatures, etc. There are also temporal distortions (ie come out a hundred years after you went in), issues with food and drink, etc. The fey are not usually all that friendly.