I'm surprised you are having trouble with batik fabric dulling your needle. It does have a very fine, dense weave which I find thoroughly delightful. It seems to know its place when you press it, and my blocks lie flat without the seam allowances coming unpressed. Of course I am not a great machine quilter so perhaps that's why I don't notice any issues there. And I am not a speed quilter. I do use the smaller size sharp for piecing and a larger quilting or topstitch needle for machine quilting.
Good luck with your unruly batiks! I hope the next batch is better.