I would like to see more towards handling pilots rather than plane
drivers. If for no more than all these technological advancements become a
real safety addition rather than a cover up for inadequate training.
Well, you are 30 years out of date in your thinking. Flight training used to emphasise maneouvers and handling exercises and resulted in pilots who crashed planes because they were inadequately trained in decision-making, SRM, integrating modern systems into their flying and real-world scenarios that present threats. The emphasis in Cirrus training is very much the modern approach. A Cirrus pilot needs the skills to autonomously captain an aircraft on long trips across a variety of environments, making the right decisions and using the right resources. A traditional "handling" focused course, like the UK PPL, teaches people "captaincy" only to the extent of operating an obsolete aircraft in ideal conditions under the close supervision of a school in the local area of that school.
Of course any pilot needs basic handling skills. But I think you are wrong that there is a systematic problem with handling skills or technology substituting for handling skills in GA. Most studies identify decision-making and SRM as the key problems. Let's face it, handling skills and methods haven't changed much since the 1930s. All the vast improvements in commercial aviation safety since then are the result of technology and CRM/SOP methods. Handling has nothing to do with it. So ironically, my view would use your own words but reversed, I think that training should focus more on producing all-round "plane drivers" and not just "handling pilots".
I can't say I am an expert on any of this, so please take it as a friendly exchange of different views and no more!