I’ve never changed my rules. I’m consistently on the side of hype = portrayal until feats/anti feats say otherwise. Most of the time characters do live up to the hype
Hype and portrayal doesn't always equate to being same.
Portrayal comes from someone's official position or someone credible making a statement on other.
Hype is more about promotion with build up for future.
There is thin line.
Sometimes both means same thing, sometimes portrayal can lead to hype but there is still a thin line of difference between them.
With that being said, Elders definitely are top tiers. However, you can't gauge the degree just based on some vague statements made.
On Luffy hurting himself - it's not clear is it because of Haki or Warcury hax. Luffy was fine when he was fighting Saturn so it's better to assume luffy getting hurt is more because of Warcury df than haki.