You did fine. It is good that you are thinking about the situation to better yourself.
I say make the circle whichever way you are hanging that day. I have never even thought about the 'left turn rule' while screaming over the top at 400' in crap wx. Keep the runway in sight, don't hit anything, and don't spin it. Booyah.
As far as disregarding the controller... only do so with a good reason that you can verbalize if needed. When you do ignore their commands you take on alot of responsibility and are ingnoring the advice of one of your greatest resources. Sounds like a non-issue in your story but it may be different next time.