David, I also think you summarized it quite nicely. American accounts and photographs may present the cold facts about what weapons were used and how they were employed. The native population will know what the weapon was and what its intended purpose was.
As for perception of the kris, my own experience has been that nowadays any wavy/snaky blade is called a kris blade, and there is the misconception that it will cause greater damage in a stab than a straight blade because it stakes its way into the body. I found it hard to detract some people from this view. There is also a seller on ebay that claims the kris was known to be superior to Toledo swords...whatever that may mean
I do not know if the seller is Filipino/Indonesian or not but that's a big claim to make.
Emanuel