I'd seen it claimed repeatedly that when others view your profile it doesn't affect People You May Know. I don't believe the claims. Despite being in the same location three days a week for several weeks with my fellow classmates, it was only after I gave a presentation to the class and my (unusual, non-English, impossible to spell phonetically) last name appeared on screen that I started seeing my classmates in People You May Know. It was only female classmates and IIRC we didn't even have mutual friends. Like you, I've been selective about going to people's profiles since then.