Should I regard the fact that my current lover expressed a preference for how I should keep my pubic hair...a form of territorial p*ssing?
I don't see how this can be anyone's way of being territorial. I mean, if you choose to "let your freak flag fly", who's going to know except you and him? Unless you've been going to a nudist colony? I think it's just a statement of preference, of which you may respond in whatever way suits you. Any grooming changes you choose to make are quite temporary. It's not like he wants you to tattoo his name on your chest.
SM
"If we will be quiet and ready enough, we shall find compensation in every disappointment." Henry David Thoreau