Hello Ladies and Gents,
In the world of man/machine interface there is often a "best" way to accomplish objectives. I would tend to agree with the notion that having done something the same way for a quarter century in no way translates as a "best way" to accomplish an objective.
Flight controls in airbus have been cross controlled and the only way to guard against a second occurrence is to scan the Maltese cross or glance over at the PF's SS which is even more taxing to your scan. Sure the odds are you will never encounter a cross controlled situation but if you do and the PF is experiencing fatigue on that leg you better hope he catches the fact that he's holding SS opposite your call out.
Also, for those flight departments mixing it up with the flight control sequence in hopes of keeping everybody on their toes, you lose a lot for such a gimmicky reason. By testing the same sequence every time you are more likely to catch the cross controlled situation mentioned above if you know what's coming first.
Lets assume two things shall we?
First, that the PM is actually able to tell the difference between full left vs full right and full up vs full down on the SD.
Second, that every pilot in either seat actually performs the checks and doesn't just respond in cadence alone.
Were adults paid to do one thing, lets bring it safely from point A to B.
Last, if you look over at the other guy when he's supposed to say "check" to a call out you'll know what kind of professional you are working with.
I will sometimes look out of the corner of my eye and I noticed that most guys look before responding, a very few guys actually look at the FMA or SD but sometimes after they have already replied "check" and fewer still will not look at all. They are rare and a well know few at my airline.