c) actually taking the aircraft by the scruff of the neck and putting it roughly where it should be has become a HUGE decision accompanied by much trepidation.
should this not be AAA* priority 1 rather than c? - though possibly inserting a "gently" or "carefully" somewhere? The Quantas A380 exploding engine crew seem to have done it right, others less so.
We are discussing the problems associated with automation not behaving as intended. You need to realise that all is not well, then what you might do to rectify it and after that take action, otherwise you’re just doing random stuff.
On two recent flights I’ve observed otherwise competent pilots watching the speed rapidly bleed off due to a high-rate altitude capture. At that point, no FMC or MCP skills are going to help, you’re in a pre-programmed trajectory. It’s AP out and I had to hint several times as many people are reluctant/uncomfortable/unhappy doing this at altitude.
If nasty things start happening up near the top of the flight envelope, e.g. you are rapidly approaching the definition of a “jet upset”, gently and carefully could be your undoing as it may take pitch/roll attitudes and control deflections that you’ve never used before outside the simulator (and maybe not even in there) in order to recover. See AF447. The QF A380 was a fine example of CRM and technical skills saving the day but they were not fighting the aeroplane for control.
(In the above quote “roughly” was meant as “approximately” rather than crudely or violently.)