Darkroom,
I have to agree with you there. I have completed the Australian ATPL exams and what you say seems very true. I simply memorised loads of stuff and when the exam was done I just data dumped it and moved onto the next one. None of the questions seemed relevant to the day to day operations of an airplane.
I recently did some online FAA ATP exam questions and I must say they seemed much more relevant. Questions about what you can fly with what class of medical you hold seemed more relevant than the Australian questions which seemed to focus more on knowing what colours are on a TCAS screen. When I get into something with a TCAS I as sure my employer will make sure I know how to use it. He on the other hand is going to expect me to know what type of medical I need.