Quote from Desert185:
"Not even going out on a limb here, I have to say had AF447 been a DC-8 everyone would still be alive, provided the "pilots" didn't touch anything while the airspeeds read zero."
Presume you've not flown Airbus FBW? I have, and in previous years negotiated the ITCZ many times in jet types such as B707 and VC10 (both without A/THR), and the A310 and DC10 (both with A/THR). Must admit I never lost the ASIs, even on the rare occasions when the windshields were icing up. But GOULI should recognise that there isn't always a clear way through the ITF, and that the turbulence encountered by AF447 was far from "extreme".
Haven't flown one, but the A330 (even the shorter 200) probably handles fairly similarly to the DC8 in chop. It's a big, stable aircraft. Admittedly, the AP was lost because of the UAS. (The A/THR wouldn't be usable for the pitch/power technique anyway.) The AF447 PF had the advantage of Pitch Alternate law, which would make pitch control easy, but he had to keep the wings level himself. Why he chose consistently to pull up will always remain open to conjecture - I've floated ideas myself. Like you say on your a/c, the trick is to maintain the status-quo.
Now with plenty of time to read and think, I think there is a growing issue in aviation of loss of basic flying skills; partly due to automation and complacency. Airbus has to take its share of the blame, including that for making the MTBF so much longer than it was even in my youth... But so do the airlines and the regulators.
Hats off to anyone who's involved in airborne research into a/c behaviour in adverse wx, particularly in a veteran airframe!