Too Many Unrated Games

I only play unrated games when I know that I'm not in my best form mentally, or when I'm playing against an opponent rated significantly lower or significantly higher.

I guess that is fair

I don't think failing to be at 'best form mentality' is a good justification for switching to unrated, because no one is in their best form at all times, or on demand even. People are at their average form most of the time.

IMO, it's kind of a hedge or cheating if you protect your rating from your less-than-optimal self, because ELO is already an attempt to determine your average level, not your 'if all the planets are aligned just right' level.

Sure, I play tired, distracted or stressed far too much and my rating in blitz severely suffers for it.  I dig into a deep holes and have to climb out.  I can easily send myself down 200 to 250 ELO points on a bad night and then climb out in a day or three of hard work.  But it is honest.  It is what it is.  

Better for me to have the discipline to play games when I'm not too tired.  Yes I could protect myself from myself with unrated, but I just can't help but feel that's a pansy's way out.

And I hate playing with no purpose, no incentive, and if I can't achieve a higher placement it's hard for me to find purpose.  

I can definitely appreciates other points of view on this and see some justification for unrated.  I just hold myself to different thresholds and standards.  Unless I'm playing with a real handicap, like a phone when I'm used to a large screen, stuff like that, I can't justify unrated for myself.

This isn't my pet issue though. Blitz trolls are the vermin nightmare I loathe.

You do have a good point. I just want to clarify that when I said I was "not in my best form," I meant to say that my brain pretty much isn't working - that I'm far worse than my average form. Sometimes I play a game or two just to relax after some hard work, and it is during those times that I play unrated.

I play unrated games when I am playing using the blindfold piece set. I find it much harder to calculate tactics so my rating is probably 200-300 points lower than when I play normally (I usually play 10 minute games). I want to still have my actual rating for when I play normally though so playing unrated games is quite helpful for me.