The praises heaped upon the Blessed Mother by we Catholics go far beyond simply asking for prayers. They are a form of worship (and so is praise heaped upon the rest of the cloud of saints and angels), they simply are not equal in any way to the worship owed and given to Almighty God.
We even have terms for this - dulia - the worship given the saints - and latria - the worship given to Almighty God. Dulia is also extended to sacred persons who are living - we show this by genuflecting before a Bishop or Royalty, the reverential attention given to a judge and his commands, and of course, the respect owed to our elders and parents.
Dulia = piety, latria = adoration.
I know this is very complex for an American Protestant, involving as it does words in foreign languages.
No they are not, "pretend Catholic."