But... I still question: Are the pilots REALLY in control?
Yes. Transition to the Airbus family is a tad "different" at first, as with any new thing.
As you get on with it, you realise how you are going to fly this thing. there are new rules to flying, its fly-by-wire for a start, it has different laws for another it has managed and selected inputs to differentiate - bottomline, you are always in control because you always know what it is going to do next or indeed what to do if it "supposedly" decides not to play ball - (rare). So long as you learn everything about the aircraft - and more importantly - keep on learning, it is a nice bit of kit. you will never get the feel you get with a conventional aircraft - but if you assimilate all the knowledge and get used to setting it up and its characteristics of attiude being maintained by leaving the stick in neutral and other aspects pertaining to the Airbus family (most of them) you will find the A319 to be a babe to fly - just adapt, after studying like a b-----d!
. . . and, as Stilton rightly said -
If the auto whatever doesn't work, just fly the bl**dy aeroplane.