Based on nothing other than my own experience I would say that triangle shaped glass has two major purposes for being shaped the way it is:
--1. A martini, a proper one at least, is a highly aromatic beverage. Ergo, the large opening to allow you to smell the beverage as you are drinking your gin. IE, your nose is in the glass as you are sipping.
--2. The shallow slope of the glass allows certain flavour agents to cling to the walls with a fairly regular certainty. Some bartenders do what's called a "scotch wash" wherein a small dose of scotch is swirled around the glass and then discarded, the same can also be done with vermouth in some cases.
Now like I said I have no back up to those points, I just pulled it out of my ass.
In answer to your last question:
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.....if I asked for a martini served in, say, a rocks glass, would the bartender look at me funny?
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Well let me put it to you this way.
A martini is a martini, international spies drink them right before they bang the super model. Straight gin is what a hobo drinks before he pukes on his shoes.