I've been following this thread with great interest and decided as a result, to dust off the old instructor and go for a spot of EOL's to the ground revision. I continuously practice Auto's whenever I fly with suitably qualified passengers, with a recovery on the chosed spot.
The first one was a bit messy with a long ish run on - certainly survivable. The second got better - and after the 8th or 9th I was like an old pro.
I figure that if the entry's OK, and the needles are where thay should be. Providing the flare's put in at the bottom, everyone should walk away, even if the thing rolls.
The hard bit I think, is putting it where you want it to end up.
Moral of the story: "Training is for when things go wrong, and being in a position to put it right"