As JD says, "an excellent discussion". As long as it remains so, I'd like to join in. Not all pPrune debates are so well conducted.
I know HC and 212man, I see from the input of others that they are well informed and qualified to debate this. My perspective, as a current RW sim instructor and retired FW pilot, is that of someone tasked with training both the automation and the intervention it sometimes requires.
The expertise of many of the contributors is, as I see it, part of the problem. They are company test pilots, CTCs, senior people. The technophiles love the automation and want to use it to the full. They just KNOW that all the protections are built in and can be relied on. The trouble is, the "average line pilots" I see every day find it simpler to fly around on HDG and ALT. That's why I fully agree with HC's wish list. But in it's absence, the "dumbing down" that JD referred to is what is actually necessary to keep pilots confident (and that's important, right?) that they are in control and know what's going on.
This discussion started with talk of trim release buttons and handling. It has drifted into "Automation: Friend or Foe?" I think the latter is the real debate. Should we start another thread?