Autothrust
Steering manually for me also means using thrust manually.
In gusty conditions I prefer a selected speed and use judgement as to how accurately I have to maintain it, rather than a magenta target speed that is way above Vls, and of which I never now when it is going to come down to sensible values.
Another thing I don't like about managed speed on approach, is the fact that the magenta bug is not always your target anyway - the green symbols (dot, S and F) will be your target if the magenta bug is below them, but then again not if you fly a Flap 3 approach, with Flap 3 selected: the F is then not removed as in a full flap approach, but still the maganta bug below the F will be the target.
Your remark about how well the thrust levers handle - agree.
Overall thrust response from the engines (IAE) - coming off the idle stop they are awfully slow to accelerate, but once at a reasonable RPM, their response is OK.