  We report results on the ROSAT-discovered noneclipsing short-period polars RX
J0154.0-5947, RX J0600.5-2709, RX J0859.1+0537, RX J0953.1+1458, and RX
J1002.2-1925 collected over 30 years. We present accurate linear orbital
ephemerides that allow a correct phasing of data taken decades apart. Three of
the systems show cyclotron and Zeeman lines that yield magnetic field strengths
of 36 MG, 19 MG, and 33 MG for the last three targets, respectively. RX
J0154.0-5947, RX J0859.1+0537, and RX J1002.2-1925 show evidence for part-time
accretion at both magnetic poles, while RX J0953.1+1458 is a polar with a
stable one-pole geometry. RX J1002.2-1925 shows large variations in the shapes
of its light curves that we associate with an unstable accretion geometry.
Nevertheless, it appears to be synchronized. We determined the bolometric soft
and hard X-ray fluxes and the luminosities at the Gaia distances of the five
stars. Combined with estimates of the cyclotron luminosities, we derived
high-state accretion rates that range from $\dot M = 2.9 \times 10^{-11}$
$M_{\odot}$yr$^{-1}$ to $9.7 \times 10^{-11}$ $M_{\odot}$yr$^{-1}$ for white
dwarf masses between 0.61 and 0.82 $M_\odot$, in agreement with predictions
based on the observed effective temperatures of white dwarfs in polars and the
theory of compressional heating. Our analysis lends support to the hypothesis
that different mean accretion rates appply for the subgroups of short-period
polars and nonmagnetic cataclysmic variables.
