BOAC, the A/T was put in HOLD. Since the A/T can't read the pilots mind, it has to assume that was intentional.
Are you really advocating an A/T that can unilaterally apply thrust, even when the pilot has commanded it not to? What if there was an issue with unreliable airspeed (been known to happen), do you want the A/T to firewall the throttles against the pilots wishes to maintain the erroneous airspeed during landing? Boeing design philosophy says the pilot has the final say.
As an aside, I'm not a pilot, but I am a driver - and sometimes a race driver. As an experience driver, coming into corner I can evaluate my speed relative to what would be an 'appropriate' speed for that corner and adjust my speed accordingly (without using a speedometer). Shouldn't an experienced professional pilot be able to do the same thing while landing on a beautiful summer day? Or is that an invalid comparison?