Crab Meat

Yes and no.

You've pretty well summed up the differences. But in a hot dip the difference will hardly be noticed. If the claws are whole, I would break them up a little bit---but don't go overboard. Just enough so that they're not obviously claws, but in big enough pieces that the crab shines through.

Do you need a recipe?

I'm assuming that in a dip the meat will be shredded fairly finely, so as KYH said it won't really make much difference, if any at all.  I would probably use a few big, easily recognisable chunks to adorn the top of the dish so folks can tell that there is crab in there.

mjb.

I've got several variations on the theme, Kirstin. Almost all of them use similar ingredients as yours. With one exception. This one departs radically. I gleaned the original from all recipes.com, but have adapted it significantly:

Spicy Hot Crab Dip

1 pkg cream cheese at room temp
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tbls mayonnaise
1 1/2 tbls freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tbls Worchestershire
1 tsp Coleman's dry mustard
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated
1 lb crabmeat
2-3 glugs hot sauce
Old Bay to taste
1/4 cup parmesan, grated
Smoked paprika for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 325F. Lightly grease a 1-quart baking dish, or several individual ramikins (8-10 half-cup ramikins).

Mix together the cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon juice, Worchestershire, dry mustard, and cheddar. Fold in the crabmeat, hot sauce, and Old Bay.

Transfer the mixture to the preped dishes. Top with parmesan and sprinkle with paprika.

Bake about 20 minutes, or until bubbly and lightly browned.

So much for the no cheese with seafood rule!