That was how I see it too. She didn't lie, she said they were never equals. Her self-confidence is at an all-time low, so she could say that and mean that he is worth more than her. Or at least that she values his life more than her own.
She is a master of word-play after all.
Yes, the palanquin was just so perfectly over-the-top and strange! And the nails!
The Seanchan helmets are also good. The overall effect gives a vibe of other-ness and strange-ness that is perfect. And how the damane just casually points to the women who could channel while the so'jihn was...