I see it a bit differently. First, consider a card that is mint off the printing press at Topps, delivered to a ballplayer and signed by the player, then inserted in a pack of cards, pulled and submitted for grading. I presume you would have no issue with that card being deemed a "10" by the TPG with no "MK" note, because it is in mint condition as issued by Topps.
I think when a player signs a card, it changes the nature of the card from simply a card company issued card to an autographed card. Basically, a different category. Nobody treats two identically graded cards (say PSA 8s) where one is signed and the other is not as the same card. So, IMHO, once a card is signed and authenticated to be the signature of the player, the card is effectively transformed into a new card type (autographed card), and the autograph is considered part of the card (as if it was effectively issued that way), so the TPG's job is to assess the overall condition of the autographed cards according to the same standards it would treat any card containing an autograph.
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