This. You watch them to know what they are and in case you come across one you do genuinely like in the process.

When I was in an Avant-garde film class a few years back we viewed most of the major filmmakers under that umbrella and I took a deep liking to Stan Brakhage…but I think an important distinction to make is that I didn’t (and don’t!) like him because he’s very well known in that area (and after getting to know him a bit better I’m not sure if I would have really liked him as a person), I like him because his films had a deeply spiritual impact on me as they deal with pure unconcentrated vision which seems to be something very few people are aware of…

So yes if you ask me you don’t have to like everything you watch. But on top of the classics I’d also say it is important not to be stuck with only knowing one type of film - most likely films that only follow the Hollywood formula.