How can I determine if Microsoft Patches are recommended or optional without using IUpdateSearcher?

On a single computer, it's simple enough to filter which updates Microsoft deems important by running a PS script such as the following:

$session = New-Object -ComObject Microsoft.Update.Session
$searcher = $session.CreateUpdateSearcher()
$result = $searcher.Search("IsInstalled=0 and Type='Software' and IsHidden=0")
$requiredupdates = $result.Updates |? AutoSelectOnWebSites -eq $true

However, this information is not given when reviewing updates for release through our patch management software. I could run the above script against a representative machine but it would exclude patches that wouldn't be listed until after a reboot.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/1234567 will usually report if automatic updating will apply a patch, but this is not always true.

Is there another method (preferably programmatic) to retrieve this information?