jriv - you need to back off a bit here.
You appear to be the only pilot who doesnt want to take 2 seconds and brief an MSA. For the rest of us it is an SA tool: 'MSA is 5300, mountains are to the west and sea is to the east' What a great way to have the big picture in your mind as to what to do if the sh!t hits the fan.
It doesnt take much.
Nobody has once mentioned refusing a decent below MSA, you are the one harping on about this - I presume you check you min radar vector altitude chart when you get such an instruction - having first realised you are below MSA from the altitude you havent previously checked!
Its all about holes in the cheese. You rely on GPWS if you want, personally, I prefer to use the safeguards that are available to me before I get to that stage.
Complacency about being spoiled by a familiar environment is NOT one of my tools!!!