[khasinski]

OP here,

I do prefer feature branches (especially git flow: https://coderwall.com/p/d1pkgg ), but for day to day 'agile' development in a small team we don't use them often. YMMV.

But for pulling changes working on local branch git pull --rebase (or autorebased branch) is many times more readable (and avoid ugly merge bubbles in history).

Branch when you need branches, merge when you mean merging, rebase when you're just updating your codebase from shared repository. Keep your local (not pushed/pull-requested yet) branches dirty (commit often!), rebase them into a clean, obvious history before you share them.

Remember - commit history is for other people to READ.