Yes, it's ambiguous. That's not much of an analysis though. We should be able to pinpoint exactly where that ambiguity lies. It seems on one hand that you are certain it lies between Dm9 an D9, but then you also acknowledge there is some merit to my other interpretations. Does its ambiguity lie between all these possibilities? I doubt that's the answer because depending on context one might find the ambiguity lying between any two or more possible interpretations, but hardly ever between all.

I'm more and more beginning to think that we might be dealing with second order ambiguity here. Not only is Am/D ambiguous, but it's ambiguous where its ambiguity lies. Maybe one could construct a tree diagram that lists all possible first and second order resolutions of its ambiguity, and then we would get a step closer to capturing the true spirit of Am/D. I don't think hand waving gestures are very useful here. Yes, its functionality depends on the context. But how exactly does that dependance look like in all possible realizations? Which tendencies can be observed?

What's frightening is that this most simple scenario isn't simple at all if you look closely. How can we properly interpret any complex piece if such a little thing as Am/D can give me so much trouble. For Am/D in C major, I know that I am struggling. But what af all the constellations that I am struggling with but don't even know it? There is limitless potential for failure in analysis. What sounds like ambiguity between a duck and a goose might sound like the ambiguity between a goose and a swan to somebody else. An analysis that reaches the core of the essence of a musical structure must encompass all, or it's nothing more than an interpretation. Proper analysis must be more than an opinion or we haven't accomplished much of anything, the truth has eluded us, we have failed to make intimate contact with it