Chris Scott, I believe it's pretty clear the VS was with the plane until impact or very nearly to impact (15 seconds or less). The is no reason for the plane in a level attitude to lose contact with the satellite as long as it had power.
If the plane was in the last 15 seconds of its flight with the VS still attached, please describe how it came off before impact.
If the engines flamed out at altitude I suppose it is possible for the plane to sink in a power lost condition to the surface at that time. But, how does the CPC malfunction to provide the messages received BEFORE the engines flamed out? It seems messages would be a different order in that situation. (Recent discussion has me believing a double flame out would cause loss of power to the ACARS system. But, this would not be a total loss of power to the aircraft. I believe CPC and controls are the last items to go as power reserves and the aux generation capabilities on the aircraft die.)
Regardless, obsessing over VS falling off the plane because God swatted at it is not meaningful. That was not the beginning of the chain of events that ended AF447's flight prematurely. It would be an effect rather than a cause.
Note:
We may be able to establish a little bit more. If both engines flame out does that affect (or effect) oxygen mask deployment. (Would lack of power prevent deployment or would its loss cause automatic deployment?) Is there anything we can infer regarding presence or absence of power on the plane by the fact that the masks had not deployed?