Some would argue the autopilot is never truly off in an airbus
So what? its a routine job at the end of the day not landing on the moon or shooting down enemy fighters. The emphasis is safety in a busy environment and automation generally increases that.
To be honest, after more than 20 years in the industry, I would far rather let the automatics take the heavy lifting, especially at the end of a long day in filthy weather into a busy airport so that I can watch the big picture and/or monitor the other guy. If push comes to shove then you have to do it manually but even then I'm very glad to have some envelope protection and hopefully managed speed. Casting off all the automation to prove what a hero you are decreases spare capacity and puts a load of pressure on your oppo for no good reason. The place to practice being a sky god is the simulator so that you can do it if all else fails. The aim in commercial aviation is to get off and go home at days end, not tea and medals in the mess.
I rather suspect that the 787 has more similarity to the Airbus models than Boeing will admit as they claim "pilot centered" as part of their sales pitch. And before I get flamed, I have flown Boeings large and small for longer than I care to remember and have only recently gone back onto the bus. And very nice it is too.
The fact that new entrants go straight onto A320/737 is just the way the world works. They might not have years of experience but they can usually fly far better than I can and regularly demonstrate it in the sim, which IMHO is the place to do it.