Is silver-bearing solder appropriate for general hobbyist use?
Personally I use Sn/Ag/Cu solder in a 95.5/4.0/0.5 ratio.  I use it for both through-hole and SMD work, and find it perfectly usable for either.
My main reason for using it is it's cheap at about £18 for 100g.

http://www.rapidonline.com/Tools-Equipment/Rapid-Premium-Lead-Free-Solder-22SWG-100G-Reel-85-6612/?sid=45a99737-fdcf-4278-82ef-0af239d9deae

With SMD it's not really the size that matters but what you do with it.
More important than the solder is:
Flux!
Get a decent flux pen and don't worry too much about the solder.
I usually prime the pads with flux, then put solder on the soldering iron's tip, and wipe it across the pads, thus depositing a nice little pillow of solder on each pad.  I then add more flux, and place the component in position.  Applying the right heat with a hot-air rework station then melts that solder and the component gets sucked into place with the surface tension of the molten solder.
Oh, and if it's a home-made board, invest in some Spot-On solder resist (effectively liquid latex) and some fine paint brushes.