I don't think for one second that anyone would disagree with your comments Remoak, particularly the on-going assessment of an issue, the thing is, you and I both know that there is a company culture here at work in the background, and I don't mean with respect to guys on the day.
Rightly or wrongly, most operators train us to rely on the QRH, and for better or worse they tend to be reliable documents....but they contain the usual caveats..this is straight out my 777 QRH, and note the trouble shooting comment.
While every attempt is made to supply needed non–normal checklists, it is not possible to develop checklists for all conceivable situations. In some smoke, fire, or fumes situations, the flight crew may need to move between the Smoke, Fire or Fumes checklist and the Smoke or Fumes Removal checklist. In some multiple failure situations, the flight crew may need to combine the elements of more than one checklist. In all situations, the captain must assess the situation and use good judgment to determine the safest course of action.
It should be noted that, in determining the safest course of action, troubleshooting, i.e. taking steps beyond published non-normal checklist steps, may cause further loss of system function or system failure. Troubleshooting should only be considered when completion of the published non-normal checklist results in an unacceptable situation.
Damned if you do damned if you don't
