First let me correct the misnomer, he was an admiral and not general.
Second I think he fought more with the John company and not with the English crown.
Another instance is a General of Thiruvaagoor defeating a Danish/dutch marine invasion and taking prisoner of the Admiral, I forgot the names.
Then the difference between a patriot and a pirate is a viewpoint. Sir Francis Drake was a patriot and hero in England, but in Spain he was a barbaric looter and a pirate.
History is written by the victorious side, it is often a biased perception rather than the truth. In fact we also look only at the positive points of Chozhas etc., who knows what the glory hides.
Instances of religious persecution are there in our history too, Mahendra varma, Koon paandiyan (Arikesari parankusa?), Kirumi kanda Chozhan (Kulottunga II?).
Chozhas built massive temples, with the population densities that time, there is a big possibility that slave labor was involved. Despite Balakumaran's Udaiyar who knows how these war prisoners were treated.
Perhaps Chalukyas had a different opinion about Chozhas. Vijaya Rajendra did burn Kalyanapuram.
There is a faction that does not even consider people like Angre, kattaboman etc., as patriots as all they fought for was their own freedom, power and dominion, which even the corrupt politicians of today do, so are such people patriots, after all in Kattaboman's time, only Paachaalamkurichi was his country, so to fight for his own skin and country was synonymous...