bear
A casual observation. If some 'blend' of manual/auto commands (THS) are mandated, do we have an alert then, in/out? Prolly not. "Who's on first?"
In a DIRECT LAW situation, only manual. So in between, and true to "gradual" and "graceful" degradation, a fuzzy mush of "What are WE doing now?" The Waltz, or the Lambada?
One of the reasons in getting a type rating, and qualified on a given aircraft model, is to study it, fly it and by so doing learn how it works, and what makes it work well enough to safely operate it.
Each aircraft will have some different characteristics than others. The art of design continually evolves, so it should not surprise us.
What most professional pilots do is, rather than grouse about whether a particular combination of features pleases or doesn't, is learn how it works and how to make it fly well.
The objective of a professional training program is to make the above happen.