Agreed Cobalt, wasn't trying to say ratings are meaningless. They are essential. As you say, without them, it'd be chaos. I always end up playing vastly underrated people, and so without getting rating points from my pennant end up underrated myself. Which is why I say you never really know what to expect from someone you don't know based on their rating. You can only go by what they do on the table, and knowing within yourself that you played above or below your normal. I played FZambetta's mate who was rated about 850, but well underrated I'd say. I beat him in 3, but I'd hurt my knee in the prior match, so I wasn't playing my normal standard. But having said that, he handled the parts of my game that don't rely on movement better than most 200-300 points above him would. Mind you, he did have his paid coach giving him pointers after each set
I asked FZambetta how his friend compared to you from the one match he'd played with you (not a definitive conclusion of course). He said he thought his friend was more consistent and had a tighter loop, which I'd agree from seeing him and your vids. He said your loops he found tricky for the variation in arc and depth. Of course, its still the opinion of someone rated under 1000 who is something of a novice too. So ratings can give you an indication of someone's prowess, but you're never going to truly know until you experience their game (and preferably on several occasions), IMO.
Was against a very good player though so didn't see him at his best.