In the case of AF447 perhaps the outcome would have been different if the aircraft had a conventional control wheel (yoke) instead of the side stick.
According to the findings, during almost the entire time the aircraft was falling, the F/O (who had the controls as PF) kept pulling the sidestick all the way back, thus never giving the aircraft a chance to get out of the stall.
Should the aircraft had a conventional control column, there is a possibility that the PNF would have noticed this wrong reaction and intervened to correct it in time, thus avoiding the crash.
Of course this will only remain a speculation and never be proven.