Holden, I hope you don't refer to me, mentioning the word "arrogant". If you did, you most probably haven't read my post thoroughly.
I never questioned the skippers authority, I just did not like him. And the easiest way to deal with such a situation is to stick to SOPs. SOPs are meant to make flying safer, and to create an environment where 2 total strangers can work together easily.
Questioning the captain why he deviates does not mean overtaking control. It only (and literally) means asking "hey why do you do that?", to which the captain can respond. Me myself, I deviate from some SOPs sometimes (like intercepting the glide from above, like you mentioned), because I have a very good reason to do so, and when doing so, I always make my intentions clear to the captain.
Asking a question about the deviation brings back communication into the cockpit, and makes both pilots instead of just one understand what is going on exactly and it keeps the concepts of both pilots aligned. Nothing wrong with that. My wild guess is that that is what good CRM is all about.
I don't think an airplane should be a democracy. There is a very good reason why the captain is the captain, and all the rest of the crew operate under his command.
Also, there is a very good reason for a co-pilot to be on board. Not only should they assist the captain, the are to even represent him when he is absent.
In my company copilots are trained up to captains proficience, and are treated as captains-to-be.
When I was referring to "my" aircraft, it never occurred to me that a captain like you could be p*ssed off or could feel his authority undermined. Really, I would love all people on board to regard themselves part of a team, who all together work towards one and the same goal, which is operating a safe and comfortable flight for "OUR" passengers.
P77