I don't even know if I can play Perilous, I just don't bother because I don't find it very fun
I only play with PUGs too.
Perilous is probably not fun for you because A) You don't know how to have fun in Perilous and
You're stuck in pug mode.
This is your problem. Beyond everything else, only playing pugs is your primary problem. Pugs aren't teams, and there isn't team building involved. No teamwork through only playing pugs above all else drops your effectiveness down many factors. Pugs suck. Make friends, build teams, conquer the game together, have more fun.
I wouldn't bother dragon hunting outside of Perilous either, because the best cost/reward ratio is in Perilous. If you can't hack perilous castle, then there's the regular threatening castle map... and there's plenty of ways to kill the dragon fast. You'll still get 'good' stuff, just not the best stuff. You don't need much to conquer threatening.
Currently two archers can drop the Dragon via their Mark within 1-3 landings. i.e. if the dragon lands once, the dragon may not take flight again.