OK guys, got what I was looking for. Both halves of the story are right, the 3 pin sensor is a dual thermoswitch AND it is also a thermoswitch/thermistor, depending on which part number you buy:
006 545 91 24
This part is exactly what I'm looking for. It acts as a thermoswitch and thermistor. I can collapse 2 sensors into 1 body and free up a port on the water pump housing.
006 545 42 24 and 006 545 45 24
These two, red and green 3 pin, are both controlling 2 circuits and is a dual thermoswitch.
Same goes for the gray switch
006 545 61 24
This explains much of the confusion I was seeing across this forum. The crummy part is, we are accustomed to the different insulator colors being different temperature values, when in this particular case, the black insulator body sensor is a completely different functional unit.