As to wether those mistakes were "pilot error" is very much a question that needs to be discussed in a lot more detail and over a wider group than even the inquiry team, and with wider issues than just the operation of AF447 in view.
Let's be clear. There was pilot error. That is a fact that is indisputable among fair and rational people. The pilots neither created the correct mental model of the incident nor implemented any of the correct procedures to respond to reality effectively.
How much the crew is to blame for their errors is a different question. I certainly agree that a technological failure put them into a bad position and that technology could have done a better job of helping them out of it. At the same time, insofar as the human crew is the ultimate back-up to the technology the crew failed in their duty.
I'll leave the precise apportioning of blame to others. Suffice it to say that there is plenty of blame to go around and the crew cannot be exempt.