I’m just a slight bit late to this thread (was going to reply some time back but didn’t quite get around to it then)! 
A few thoughts now, anyway.
Rather than diving straight into reading the suttas, it might be easier starting with some kind of overview or anthology to give oneself a broad map. The gradual training guide mentioned above on this website is one possibility. Another would be Bhikkhu Bodhi’s book In the Buddha’s Words. I found the access to insight website’s sutta-based A Self-guided Tour of the Buddha’s Teachings useful at one point, particularly the section on the Dhamma (again structured in terms of the “gradual training”). Or one of Nyanatiloka’s structured sutta anthologies Word of the Buddha or The Buddha’s Path to Deliverance.
You’re also not really going to get meditation manual level details in the suttas. There are some details, but much that’s there tends to be somewhat vague.
On the anapanasati and satipatthana suttas, I wouldn’t be as pessimistic. There are parts shared in common amongst most or all versions in the parallels. See the excellent book by Bhante Sujato A History of Mindfulness that, amongst many other things, contains comparisons between the different versions of the satipatthana sutta (see chapter 15, which contains a reconstructed Satipaṭṭhāna Mūla made up of commonly shared components). Bhikkhu Analayo does something similar in his book Perspectives on Satipatthana, which academically compares the satipatthana parallels looking for shared practices, as well as well as coming at this from a practice perspective too. A more recent and primarily practice-oriented book by him on satipatthana Satipaṭṭhāna Meditation: A Practice Guide. He also had a book published on anapanasati last year, Mindfulness of Breathing: A Practice Guide and Translations, which is a mix of both practice suggestions and a look at the anapanasati parallels (translations of lots of related suttas in the later half of this book). Analayo’s books tend to become freely available to download eventually, not yet for this one I think. Anyway, there’s a link to most of the guided meditation audios for his approaches here:
http://agamaresearch.dila.edu.tw/bhikkhu-analayo-meditation-instructions
IMO the path of practice is mostly quite clear and consistently described in the suttas, much of it not about meditation at all (morality, sense restraint, even restraining one’s consumption of food, wakefulness, mindfulness in daily life etc.).
There is vagueness in aspects of the description of jhana though. There’s much that seems clear. However, many details are not. There are also obviously Pali words being used as technical terms, but quite precisely what they meant originally may not be clear (at least from the texts themselves). I suppose the broad territory where it is situated is laid out. The precise location is not.
There are different schools of thought on this. No idea how common it is (probably not very) but some dedicated practitioners do seem capable of getting into this territory (it’s rather advanced though). IMO, at least one of these jhana approaches must align with how it was taught originally (must bases are covered by the various approaches I think; you’ll find a teacher/book/approach that aligns with about just about every possible permutation of answers to these jhana controversial questions ). Many of the differences may not matter so much, e.g. those doing insight in a lighter jhana versus those who do a deeper jhana and then do insight after coming out of it (maybe both end destinations are not so very different?). Plus it is not actually obvious in the suttas that jhana is needed for stream-entry or perhaps once-return (possibly high quality samadhi with lack of hindrances may be enough before, but jhana may be very helpful and increase one’s chances nonetheless); beyond that it seems to me in the suttas like it is necessary to me (for non-return and arahantship). However, even this is a point of contention and there are different schools of thought (more evidence of the vagueness of some of the details ). Yes, it is a bit of a mess really!
IIRC the fraud idea is based on a postscript in (maybe just the Sinhalese?) version of the Visuddhimagga, which expresses hope for a rebirth in heaven and later rebirth to practice under Maitreya, so implying doubt about Buddhaghosa’s own attainments. However, I’ve also heard it argued that this was probably left there by a later scribe (and not Buddhaghosa).
I guess the Visuddhimagga and commentaries represent a particular tradition with various strata being laid down over time, with perhaps some of what was originally vague gradually solidifying and becomes very clear over time (before being finally codified and set down in writing and summarized by Buddhaghosa). Whether that clarity is really present in the original texts is another question. Perhaps also if Buddhism had survived in India, there might be more alternative traditions.
To me, practice actually sounds in the suttas rather like it should be a rather natural course of progression; when earlier parts of the path have become sufficiently solid and well established then later steps should flow more effortlessly (perhaps including jhana eventually, which usually is one of the final steps). In modern approaches, there is often perhaps an inordinate emphasis on mediation and encouraging long periods, lengthy intense retreats.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is a famous scheme from psychology.
The idea is that happiness comes from satisfying the most basic needs first (shelter, food, clothes etc.) and gradually moving to more refined needs.
It has occurred to me that something similar probably is true for Buddhism. Its central strategy is removing craving, which generates suffering. Earlier on, I guess it is more helpful to work with coarser forms of craving. For example, if one cannot keep the five precepts, this points to some fairly coarse level of craving that needs to be worked with or restrained. Or if one is significantly overweight, one want to need to work with restraint in this regard (get it under control). Gradually one works with finer cravings (onto working with the five hindrances etc.).
In modern approaches, a heavy burden tends to be put on meditation to fix stuff in people’s lives. Maybe it can sometimes, but it seems to me that meditation and particularly jhana is probably more useful with more subtle cravings or going after the deeper roots. A heavy emphasis on meditation has seemed at times a bit like someone (going back to Maslow’s hierarchy) of someone working in a very focused manner on higher self-actualization, strengthening their creative abilities, while their rent is in arrears and they just about to be turfed out on the street! 
This is not directed at you, but more a general comment on some modern practice approaches where IMO maybe sometimes the cart is put before the horse.