My impression is that player rating is contingent of the number of successes and failures in the different actions that he takes in a game. At least that's how I explain why players generally get lower ratings in TIE games than they get in normal or CT ones. So yes, from this point of view it is always better to have better skills.
My theory is that a big part of the personal ratings are the defense. If you TIE, which influences your defense in a negative way, the rating will go down. If you play with higher enthusiasm, or CT, the personal rating will be higher because the defense is influenced in a positive way.
But I do agree that it's alway better to have better skills of course hehe.
This story also works in a way, I guess.
But consider this: my C routinely gets 11-12 ratings, TIE vs Normal. I TIE in the playoffs vs someone who CTs, rating is suddenly down to 8.5. Hmmm...
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."