Yes, that all sounds very much as if Daisy was a dumped housecat when she and her kittens were so tame. Reminds me very much of my Minka found with 6 kittens in neighbors garden, she was so sweet, too. Came running when she saw me and her kids following her. I am sure she was an abandoned housecat, too. This pic is great , the three cats looking down into your apartment waiting to be rescued :)
Daisy definitely wasn't feral, she was most likely dumped. When she was coaxed onto a ladder under the hole with cat food on it and grabbed, she did one panic run around the apartment, then immediately stopped in front of me and went up on her feet when I cupped my hand over her head, to be petted, and calmed right down. The kittens were all friendly (I found Floppy about a week befor, on the other side of the ceiling, where he left the litter and followed the sounds of creatures he had never seen and started meowing like crazy), and came right to me to be removed a few minutes later.
As I saw my cats for the first time in around March 2000, infesting my ceiling in my Manchester, NH apartment. Mom Daisy to the right, I think Tony and Munchkin are the kittens. Throw-away cats, soon to be royalty.