I love learning about other breeds. Are your dogs a herd gaurdian breed similar to say a Maremma? I'm sorry but I did laugh outright at that part of the Standard that said they can exhibit reserve or lack of enthusiasm. My first Ch ACD threw away a few wins because of ' lack of enthusiasm' , but I always thought why should a working breed be interested in shows? They'd rather be at home watching sheep or cattle. One Judge tried so hard to get her to spark up for a Group win, if a cow had wandered past she would have won.
The TM temperament sounds quite a bit like that of the ACD. They were bred to gaurd the herd, the drover's gear etc. too, so like your dogs they are fierce defenders of their family and home, their vehicle, little children and the list goes on. One of mine would lie by the chicken coop to keep an eye on the baby chickens, she was lovely. It sounds to me too that your dogs can have a wonderfully gentle side that makes you very proud of them, like Marv with that woman, or like mine that did the same thing at a show when a really ancient guy from a nursing home came over with his carer to ask if she was a heeler. She got up, walked very quietly to him and stood like a statue while he patted her. Ordinarily she would ignore people. It really made my day.
We come to differences next though. ACDs aren't usually willing to make new friends, it's more often that they approach to sus' the person out, but they can excel at obedience and tracking, probably because of their total devotion to their owner and their wish to please them. They'll be nice with visitors if that's what you want but those visitors aren't their friends, the same people can get bitten if you aren't with the dog when they arrive. They have improved in the past 60 years. A breeder told me that back in the 50s you would never dare try to touch another person's cattle dog, and I know that at shows judges got severely bitten and because this can be a dog aggressive breed they would have quite a space between the dogs in the showring. No wonder they amended the Standard to say that they must be amenable to handling in the ring.
I agree there are splits. There will be people wanting to turn the ACDs into licky lapdogs, and physically they already have altered the breed so much. The old cattlemen used to say that the best dog for working was right up to height and all through the Standard the word broad was repeated again and again, a big tough dog that could stand a good kicking by a steer. Nowadays in the ring though inbreeding has dropped the height, they are finer boned, noisier too - they are supposed to be a silent worker, not a yapper. Actually they now do what people call a cattle dog shriek and I hate it. We had an inbred female here(long story) that would wait for you to walk past her yard, then she'd leap to your ear level and do this shriek. Took years off my life, that girl!
The first time I ever heard her I thought she'd been hurt. but no, just noisy. The dog aggression is the reason I wouldn't like them in a Home Depot/dog park situation, that and with the occassional one having to say over and over, "NO! You can't pat this one!" and "YES, I am sure it will bite".
How old is your breed, do you know? The first Standard for my breed was drawn up in 1902, so it's not an old breed compared to many and with its mixture of breeds, including Dingo blood, they can be a bit feral at times. MY vet reckons the reds are worst, and while our current red boy is the best we've ever had, maybe I agree. Regardless though, I love my reds.