You are correct.
There is a theory that the system formed from matter from a captured galaxy that intersected this one at a steep angle, and that is why we are tilted like this.
The polar alignment of stars are oriented in all different directions because they’re so small in relation to the galaxy that the galaxy’s spin has no significant effect on them. The tilt is due to local conditions in the nebula that formed them—passing stars or other gravitational disturbances.