Well, that all depends on what was going on at the time, doesn’t it? If you were in the middle of a windshear escape manoeuvre in an area well known for extreme turbulence in the prevailing conditions would you really increase your workload by taking the autopilot out? I’m not sure I would but then I wasn’t there at the time. None of us were.
That wasn't a windshear escape, it was quite consistent major rhythmic oscillations that went on and on. If it
was a windshear escape in my aeroplane, I'd be getting rid of the AP PDQ. That thing had lost the plot if the AP was in.