Pitch control.... Well you have an ASI,VSI and Altimeter...
Or people only capable of using one instrument these days?
How about something that is much more simple. The AH is not required in VFR flight.
T&B can be used for co-ordination in turns, engine failure in multi-engine, some spin stuff, rate of turn, and recovery from the emergency situations noted before.
An AH is just an instrument that helps co-ordinate all the above information and the picture outside the plane into one place. If that fails, you still have all the information from other sources.
Planning IFR, sure. I use the AH as my primary instrument.
VFR, I barely use it. But I still use the balance ball.