On balance, I would agree that in my experience home educated children do come across better in a social situation than the majority of children I have met who have been school educated.
I have been home educating for many years (21!) and have met thousands of HE children, and I have childminded for many years and have run childrens groups so I have also met thousands of schooled children. I do notice a difference.
Home educated children tend to conform less to societal norms when younger, ie, they don't learn to sit still and be quiet as young as schooled children, and so in the early years up to around 7 or 8 they can appear less mature and less well behaved. However I believe that they catch up and overtake in their later years, say by about 11, when they often appear much more confident, self directed and mature than schooled children. And of course whilst they might not know how to sit still and wait patiently they haven't lost their enthusiasm and desire to learn in the same process
I have had many many favourable comments on my children and on home educated children in general, in fact last week I had someone say to me that as a warden on a nature reserve he found a huge difference between the home ed groups and the schooled groups he took around. He described it as the home edded children were interested and asked pertinant questions whereas he felt the schooled children were somehow "switched off".
I have noticed this with the children I childminded, they are alive, full of fun and learning when with us full time pre-school, then as they go to school and come to us after school I watch them go quieter, less confident and sadder :-( It feels such a shame.