I haven't been following this thread from the beginning, so not sure from where the "story" emerged that B777 yokes was purely down to United line pilots. It most decidedly did not, and there was widespread consultation with Boeing's 747 Classic customers (the target market for the B777, in competition with the A330/A340). My 747 Classic F/Os, that are still flying, are predominantly on B777s.
777-Yoke Vs. Sidestick
With all due respect, and I really value your contribution to this thread, and which is always insightful, I think a better analogy would be the migration from horse and cart to the motorcar - whether reins or wheels, the retention in front of you over which you clearly control (whether horse or machine).
We all know that "feedback" to yokes is artificial, and has been for decades, but a yoke emphasizes control (pleases Joe Sutter!).
The argument, for those that are not "fans", is that the SS regime inadvertently disconnects the PF from the aircraft and (at least without interconnectivity to the other SS and with artificial feedback through the SS to the PNF) from the other pilot - it is a system operator tool, rather than a pilot control tool, if I may put the argument in those terms.
I am undecided because overall Airbus are excellent aircraft with an excellent safety record (particularly if you remove the "human interface" crashes from their list of casualties, and Boeing have had more than a few LOCs). I also take your point that the SS came out of the USA through the F-16.
None of this would of course matter to this thread, if the pilots were at one with the A330 comprising AF447. But this is currently very much a point of contention...