Excellent post, Peter H
A very cogent and succinct summary if there ever was one.
If I am driving my high-tech car down a highway and all of the electronic displays vanish from the screen and cruise (throttle) control drops off, what do I do ?
I sit bolt upright in my chair, put my right foot on the gas pedal, keep the car moving at what seems to be the same speed based on traffic around me and other cues. Then and only then do I troubleshoot.
It seems that flying reasonable (and easily obtained) pitch and power settings might have done the same for AF 447 when things became very confusing very quickly....