You have an excellent thread running here Centaurus, 10 out of 10 for a good effort.
I know that I'm echoing a good deal of what has already been said here, but there is a good case for recurrent training in set-piece scenarios, e.g. Engine Fire upon rotation, Instrument failures etc. These give the trainee confidence in managing the more serious events that can take place. What concerns me, both as an instructor and a student, is when the entire simulator detail is to a pre-written script. Much book bashing precedes the Sim detail, and the detail then becomes a test of how well the student can recall what he/she has read, with little opportunity to exercise situation management in unexpected situations (all abnormalities on real flights are unexpected, and out of left field).
I would consider that an ideal recurrent detail would be split into 3 portions, the first being for practice at the important 'set-piece' manoeuvres.
The second portion could be addressed to requests from the trainee for practice at various manoeuvres / situations. Obviously the student has requested these because of his/her perceived need to experience and manage particular situations that they feel a lack of confidence / understanding for.
The third portion could be at the instructor's discretion, giving a number of problems 'out of left field'. In my experience as an Instructor and a Student, I find the most value in these. Generally (but not always) they serve as great confidence builders for the student, in developing and exercising their management of unexpected situations. These may even be injected into the 'set-piece' exercises, such as engine failure, instead of the 'expected' flame-out a bird strike / compresser stall / excessive EGT may be substituted as the cause. How many instructors initiate an RTO with a below target N1/EPR instead of the expected flame-out? (Are you still on line greybeard, Yup, you were good at that). I tend to disagree with greybeard in his assertion that Asian students didn't like stepping out of the box of the set-piece routine. Certainly, in a very 'boxed' culture, there was a fundamental resistance, but, given the opportunity to 'free-range', most accepted it with great gusto.
My most memorable student was a Command trainee who insisted that I keep loading him up until he could handle no more. I was running out of simultaneous failures to a ridiculous level, but he continued to handle it well, very well in fact. It raised quite a sweat, but at the end of the detail stepped out with the words; "Now I know that I'm ready for command". It was a great confidence booster for him, and he did inded become a very good Captain, Instructor, Check Airman, and Management pilot.
Regards,
Old Smokey