Those merit awards have been awarded before an analysis of your need (correct?), so those are true merit awards and not the same as need-based awards, as I understand it. Those are the ones I have been told will not be reduced unless they exceed the cost of attendance (at least at the schools I consulted). An exception is that some school National Merit scholarships are reduced by the amount of OTHER National Merit Scholarships received directly from the National Merit Scholarship Corp.
But I still like to send emails confirming my understanding so I have it in writing somewhere.