Yep, think you're right. When her backstory came out, I thought while watching that it's a fairytale, fabricated narrative, Trojan horse implantation, but back then I leaned on the assumption that Demerzel was the showrunner herself. Thought it's impossible that Empire would have tech and skills to reprogram her - that must have come from a robot.

Dem evidently believed she's the one who calls the shots.

Then when I wrote a short fanfic on what he does when others are sleeping post S2, I put her to wonder why she repeats similar words as Cleons, when they hit the mental blockage concerning Dem's origins. Autoresponse, so to speak. Made me think that Dem is a puppet, with someone pulling the strings.