>pull requests [...] don't provide a useful structure for feedback on the code level; you really want the patch as the context for the discussion
Pull requests without patches may work in some circles. However, where trees grow by the gardening rules of David Miller — and the networking tree has been named as an organized citizen by LWN before, sort of —, pulls better had patches alongside.
Do `git send-email --compose ...`, and while in the editor, run-and-paste the output of `git request-pull ...`.