Do I really need my little finger?

[OG_Blues]

use whatever fingers will get the job done in the area of the neck I'm using at the time.

This is why, over time, I have gravitated to preferring longer scale guitars with wide and flat fingerboards.
It is easier to use the same fingering patterns that I have "gotten under my fingers" at the lower frets, at the top end of the board as well without having to modify the technique. One less thing to think about on the fly.
When I had a teacher for a while many years ago, he insisted on me using my pinky all the time. It was a wild, out of control, fly everywhere little finger! But he marvelled at how it (almost) always came down on the fret at the right place at the right time. Over time I have been able to tame it down and keep the tip closer to the board and smooth things out, but I still finding flailing about at times. IMO, it is worth the effort, but may take a lot of practice and a long time - it did for me. I'm glad I stuck with it.

 

[arock]

Real blues men just amputate their little finger so it won't get in the way. YMMV

 

[PapaRaptor]

When I was a teen, I had an accident that crushed the knuckle in my left hand pinky. I was playing bass in a garage band at the time and the doc who treated me didn't give me much hope for ever gaining any strength in it or ever being useful for anything musical. I never stopped playing bass and after a lot of pain (and much underage drinking), six months later, I was playing as I had before. To this day, I probably use my pinky more than most people. It flails a lot, just like everyone else's, but it works.

 

[Tayport]

My pinky loves my ring finger and they don't want to separate LOL. I have been using a rubber net and bands to try and stretch them with exercises. It's getting better but still a challenge.

 

[Rancid Rumpboogie]

I have diabetes and neuropathy has my left little finger numb. I can use it, but ... well, you get the idea.