Apart from the thrusters for which you do 2 sets, how many sets do you do for your other exercises? I can no longer do bench press because of my shoulders, but I can do weighted dips just fine for a full range of motion. It is my principal "push" exercise. I don't know if I necessarily agree, but I've heard it said that dips are a better chest exercise. Any reason you don't do them? I also do push ups, after dips, but I don't want to do too many. So I place my feet on a bench and do the first 6-8 reps very slowly, both up and down, before going to a more "normal" pace for the remainder. Do you go for many reps as a "finisher" after the bench or do you have your own variation to make them more demanding?
I do six working sets. I do dips and bicep curls on occasion. I have an old dip-machine in the house as well. I also do close-grip bench.
It's easy when you're at/near maintenance. I increase weight by 10lbs on any movement if I can finish the 6th set. Pretty conventional. I stop at 10-12 reps or 16-18 when going light. The 6th set is where the gains are seen. I am not doing any isolation movements so six sets isn't overtraining. I still get DOMS the next day.
Physiologically, why are thrusters more productive, than splitting the movement into 2 parts: Front Squats & Barbell front press? Or, the C&J? Thrusters eliminated the "clean" part of it.