Another CFI and Cat Driver - I whole heartedly agree with you. One thing I find is that after covering NDB approaches on the course, trainees fly better ILS approaches. I believe that this is because you can only successfully fly Non-precision approaches using good attitde, speed, ROD and power control but you can needle chase an ILS and get away with it (most of the time).
I rarely find myself using the kind of scan I was taught on BFT in the RAF (Artificial Horizon - Altimeter - AH - Speed - AH - Heading - AH etc etc.) I now find a roving scan bringing in periferal instrumentation shows uperrors more quickly. However, you do have to start somewhere and a rigid, mechanical scan gets you on the way).
I am also amazed at how little some of the flying schools actually teach the cadet pilots. One school (no names but based in Bedford) used to send out airline sponsored cadets who had never flown a SID or STAR and maybe one or two procedural ILS approaches - i.e. just enough to scrape an IR and let someone else do the remedial work. That same school now no longer trains for BA after getting found out!