The old-style control column provides feedback, but that is dependent on a separate set of pitot tubes. If those were to ice up the feedback could well become incorrect as well. However it is easy to see what is happening, and to determine how much the control column/engine controls have been moved away from neutral. For example if you had full back stick with a conventional control or full thrust with conventional throttles, you would see/feel it straight away. That makes it easier to decide if the airplane is working as it should, and you could fly it even without instrument indications. Take for example a spin; if you neutralise the controls and close the throttles you could reasonable expect the airplane to recover. The Vampire had a white line painted on the instrument panel to align the stick in the event of a spin recovery, since the stick was offset a little with wings level. How would you do that in a 'Bus?
The 757 accidents were caused by, in one case, tape over the static ports and mud wasps in the pitot tubes in the other. In both cases the airplane was flyable, if the crew had used the inoperative pitot/static checklist and procedures. Poor training perhaps? They both had GPS speed and heading, attitude etc. Altitude was not available for one of those crews but depressurizing would give them an independent altitude from the cabin altimeter. Smashing the glass in the standby altimeter perhaps would work as well after depressurising?
Why did this AF crew not know what was going on and what to do about it? If we could know that we could stop a similar accident in the future, but perhaps it should now be expected that a crew will not be able to handle an all-automatic airplane without those automatics. Some fighters are designed that way but they have ejection seats.
I never did acept that easy means better, when it comes to airplanes. I relish the chance to do something that is harder than it maybe needs to be, and look forward to approaches at minimas or takeoffs at high weight/density altitude. I like to fly floats, skis, night VMC etc and cannot understand the delight the 'Bus pilots take in their fully automatic machines, with a lunch table instead of a stick.