What do we know about them? I've done some research on the subject and found various answers. It's know their connection with the Greek states to the South and how Macedonian might have been a Greek dialect, the worship of Greek gods and at least their elite had taken part in Greek culture and their participation in panhellenic games such as the olympics, but I did read that Alexander I name doesn't show up in the Olympic winner's list. At the same time I've read that Macedonia also shared cultural aspects with the Thracians and they both shared a similar political government. I've read that the Argeads participated in Thracian cults like that of the Thracian Hero and payed their respects at Thracian sanctuaries.
Our written surviving were written by Greeks and mostly focus on the Macedonian aristocracy. So I guess my question is how much do we know about the Macedonian people as a whole.
I'm going to try break this down into different sections to try make this understandable, apologies if it feels clunky.
Ancient Macedonian way of life
Aristocracy such as the Argeads themselves and other elites had a higher level of education, learning to become a man through Macedonian standards with factors like hunting and fighting while also being educated in matters of war and politics, along with science and philosophy. A famous example being Alexander the Great who was educated by Aristotle.
For your average Macedonian? We unfortunately don't have much on how they perceived themselves. Green, as you can likely tell from your reading along with Eugene Borza perceives them as a distinct group of people. Where as historians like NGL Hammond or Robin Lane Fox perceive them as one of the many Greek people in Ancient Greece but a lot rougher culturally and linguistically, which led to them being regarded as lesser by Greeks of the South. However, we know according to NGL Hammond that in earlier periods they "Were a pastoral people" (Hammond, 1981, pg. 8) in regards to Lower Macedonia who were proud of their nodamic lifestyle as according to Hammond they preffered keeping to themselves, they also functioned with companies to hunt, gather supplies and protect them from wildlife along with neighboring tribesman. Upper Macedonia is similar and was acquired with Persian assistance which up to Mt. Golesnista spoke a Greek Dialect (Hammond, 1981, pg. 10) which would've helped them with communication. Ancient Macedonians in both Lower and Upper parts prided themselves on this rougher lifestyle through being tough, hardworking and enduring harsh seasons and conditions to become a warrior. Hammond describes this as "Simple and unsophiscated by comparison with the Athenians" who perceived this way of life as more primitive. Macedon, was also full of timber and other resources, which allowed them to eat more meat than the Standard Greeks (Hammond, 1981, pg. 12).
Ancient Macedonian Language
Yet another issue that is still heavily conflicting among academics. Language being fragmented with Borza believing that it's not conclusive enough to draw valid conclusions. However, Joseph Rossman and Ian Worthington analyse that the Pella Curse tablet is indicative of the Native Macedonian Language with it being Doric (Klimczak, 2016) with other artifacts demonstrating similar characteristics with other evidence like the EAM 2 inscription. We also have other evidencs ranging from coins all indicating a Greek Dialect. Robin Lane Fox also wrote ‘Natives might speak Greek with a northern accent which hardened 'ch' into 'g','th' into 'd' and pronounced King Philip as Bilip (Fox, 1973, pg. 30). Lexicographer Hesychius lexicon also recorded around 150-200 words being Greek (Engels, 2010, pg. 94-95) with others showing other Indo-European roots which could range from neighbouring tribes like Thracians. Thus, while fragmented the majority of linguistic evidence would imply the Macedonians spoke a Greek Dialect with influence from neighbouring regions.
Religious Beliefs
Here is another factor where the Thracian influence you spoke of becomes apparent in Macedonian culture outside of the potential aforementioned linguistic evidence I mentioned before. The Macedonians were rougher culturally when compared to the Greeks of the South. Peter Green in his biography of Alexander described the Macedonians as a 'Sub-homeric enclave' (Green, P., 1973, pg. 30) which is a fitting description. For example, Macedonians had a hereditary monarchy much like the Greeks' of Homer (King, 2002). Burial practices according to Nick Fisher and Hans van Wees had ‘Cemeteries more in common with Illyrian and Thracian burials than they do with Corinth or Athens’ and even comparable to the Greeks of Homer, representing an older way of life as these burials in Southern Greece became less prominent approximately around 8-7th century B.C. They also worshipped many of the same gods as tbe other Greeks such as Zeus, Athena, and Artemis. However, cults of deities were influenced by Thracians as they were influenced off of Artemis Bendis who represented fertility in both cultures. Cults in Macedonia also weren't looked down on which allowed for the worship of Thracians deities like Bendis and Orpheus (Christesen and Murray, 2010, pg. 429 - 31).
Conclusion
Thus, although fragmented and debated it is highly probable that the Ancient Macedonians are one of the many Hellenic peoples who made up Ancient Greece. However, compared to Southern Greeks the Macedonians were far rougher culturally and linguistically.
Sources:
Christesen, P. and Murray, S., 2010. Macedonian Religion. 1st ed. Companion to Macedonia: Wiley-Blackwell, pp.429 - 431.
Epigraphy.packhum.org. EAM 2 - PHI Greek Inscriptions. [online] Available at: https://epigraphy.packhum.org/text/150039
Fisher, N. and Wees, H., 2002. Archaic Greece. 1st ed. London: Duckworth, p.45.
Fox, R., 1973. Alexander The Great. 1st ed. London: Penguin Classics, p.30.
Green, P., 1973. Alexander The Great. London: Book Club Associates, p.30.
Hammond, N., 1981. Alexander The Great King, Commander And Statesman. 1st ed. London: Chatto & Windus, pp.8, 12.
Klimczak, N., 2016. Ancient Witchcraft And The Spell Of The Pella Curse Tablet. [online] Ancient-origins.net. Available at: https://www.ancient-origins.net/artifacts-ancient-writings/ancient-witchcraft-and-spell-pella-curse-tablet-005966
Roisman, J., Worthington, I. and Engels, J., 2010. A Companion To Ancient Macedonia. Chichester, West Sussex, U.K.: Wiley-Blackwell, pp.94, 95