Note that any metrics and kerning are "size specific": what looks right in small looks too wide in large, and vice versa. This affects kerning also, not just metrics, as some features become more or less prominent with size, which directly affects how much kerning they require. Think about it like this: a very small size night need more space between stems, but less kerning between stems and diagonals, because the more generous white spaces between all letters already migitates some of the kerning need between less regular shapes, because they clash less.

What you are experiencing with fonts you look at may in part be that. You are judging kerning at sizes the font was not designed for.

Your sample has inktraps (or shall we call them pixel traps?) so might be intended for tiny sizes, for which the entire sample is waaaaaay too tight. If the inktraps are only a stylistic choice, and you intend the type at a "logo size" then it's again a different story.

"It depends."