Good description.
Kunais are offensive weapons that allow for physical contact of the body, as you stated. However, they can also be defensive, and can block simple taijutsu or other direct attacks, hand in hand combat, as you also mention. Wind is most often used for the elemental combinations, but yes, they can be combined with a variety of moves.
Furthermore, by releasing a full wave of kunais at someone, it distracts their vision of sight, as they will be focused on what is before them. Within a battle, it is important to know where your opponents focus will be. By using flashy moves, you can get them to stare upon that only while you cook up another move that can flank them from the back. Naturally, by using this jutsu, their attention would be focused on the kunais, so keep this in mind the next time you battle. It is a good distraction, so use it to the best of your ability.
Now, what do you know of Shurikens?