Hammers seem to be most reliable - think of the logic - participants are so sure they will bid aggressively to take a countertrend* position, whereas with shooting stars someone took partial profit, stops got hit, all the way up.
Ultimately what they provide is quick visual recognition of OHLC and where supply/demand were out of balance for the period. Most (all?) multi bar candle patterns blended together seem to really be a hammer, shooting star or doji.
*Countertrend as in against a correction in the main trend