George, I'm not sure I really understand your question. Nevertheless, I'll give a few thoughts that may or may not be relevant.
As far as I know, Maxwell's January, 1935 interview in American Golfer was the only time he spoke or wrote in detail about his design principles. Here is a portion of what he said about his general philosophy:
"It is my theory that nature must precede the architect, in the laying out of links. It is futile to attempt the transformation of wholly inadequate acres into an adequate course. Invariably the result is the inauguration of an earthquake. The site of a golf course should be there, not brought there. A featureless site cannot possibly be economically redeemed. Many an acre of magnificent land has been utterly destroyed by the steam shovel, throwing up its billows on earth, biting out traps and bunkers, transposing landmarks that are contemporaries of Genesis... The less of man's handiwork the better a course."
In that same article he says of Dornick Hills:
"Not a square foot of earth that could be left in its natural state has been removed. No pimples or hummocks of alteration falsify its beauty."
While Maxwell never mentions his "rolls" or his approach to bulding greens, I think your starting point needs to be that he intentionally sought out interesting land that provided natural features he could use for contour and that he avoided disturbing the land except when absolutely necessary. So, with that in mind, I suspect that his rolls had a natural component to them whenever possible. However, it also seems pretty clear that Maxwell then took those natural contours and shaped them to create the rolls he is famous for. As I recall from Chris Clouser's book, Maxwell used clay models to shape his greens before actually building them. I presume this contributed to the notion that his greens were works of art. When you add it all up, my guess is that Maxwell's rolls are a combination of great skill in identifying and using natural contours and the equally careful sculpting of the land to create a natural yet dramatic effect. Sounds like planning to me.