Welcome Joyce,I've had experience of seeing these small reaper type entities which I've written about before.I also didn't get a negative feeling from them but they came at a time of sorrow within my family.I don't believe they are spirits of people past,maybe they are just a form of our sadness created into a tulpa and become visible to people open to these things.My brother and I saw these in the kitchen and in our front yard at different times.We probably wont ever know what they are but I'm glad you brought this account to the site.Your description is identical to the 3ft entities we experienced.