I have a habit where, if a stranger makes eye contact with me I'll say "How's it going?" or "How're you doing?" and then I gauge their response to see if it's conversation worthy. If the response is "Good" then I'll consider that they aren't interested in conversation and go about my business. If they ask how I'm doing in return, I'll pitch something new back at them (something having to do with our surroundings) and then gauge their response again.
The key to talking to strangers is knowing WHO to talk to and who doesn't want to be bothered. So long as they keep pitching back something that has response value, I'll keep going, delving a bit deeper with each statement.
Most of the time, you'll discover, that strangers are willing to share a few lines of convo with you but that's it. Other times, though, you'll find that people are willing to take it a bit further.
Mirroring, hammering them with questions, etc. all sound good on paper but for the most part are useless in authentic conversation. The best advice I can give you is to pretend like you are in a tennis match. Volley the "ball" (conversation) back and forth based on the responses you get. If you get a response that you don't think can be "volleyed" then you know not to pursue the conversation further.
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