Governor on or off for autos? Just a matter of choice I think. I've done both with instructors; each instructor seems to have a preference. If I'm practising them alone with a power recovery, I prefer to have the governor on; it's one less thing to think about. YOU have to join the needles anyway; but then the governor takes over - no big deal.
NigD2,
I hated autos for ages. But after practising them to the ground for what seemed like hours and hours during my CPL course, I suddenly realised they could be fun, and told my instructor that. He reminded me of this during my recent LPC, when I got nervous at the idea of doing autos to the ground, since I'm a bit rusty again. Do enough of 'em, and you might come to love 'em!