ITCZ,
A very well written and obviously knowledgeable response.
As such, my question is just that, a request in the hope of gaining knowledge, and in no way a challenge.
What ARE you advocating in response to TA? My manual (and, indeed, the Boeing manuals from my last three employers) all say, in various ways, "Attempt to acquire the traffic visually and maneuver as required".
Do you advocate a vertical man oeuvre BEFORE progressing to an RA? This would seem counter productive as there is no guarantee the other aircraft won't react in the same way.
Do you advocate simply waiting for an RA? This seems risky, as it is predicated on the other aircraft either doing nothing, or correctly following HIS RA. In at least two cases, the collision of the 757 and the AN124, and the near miss of two JAL aircraft, the situation ensued where one aircraft followed the RA, whilst the other followed an ATC instruction, with catastrophic and very near same results.
I hear what you are saying about multiple targets, but it's reasonably rare we get close enough to ONE target to generate a TA. Where, in the realms of probability, does the likelihood of getting a TA, using it as a guide to visual acquisition, visually acquiring the WRONG target, then turning towards the ACTUAL, but as yet unseen target actually lie?