Controlled Rest
I completely agree with your last para....however, having flown both Airbus and Boeing, Boeing wins. There's nothing like being able to see the input being made by the other pilot and then assessing the airplane's response.
As well, if I want more than 67 degrees of bank (think unusual attitude recovery) then I should be able to have it. And why can't I see the throttles moving? The Airbus has some wonderful design features, but one or two weird ones. Sadly, the Airbus community have an almost religious attachment to those weird aspects. They stubbornly refuse to consider any other point of view that might make their product even better.
An F/O I flew with once had me in stitches when he imagined the response from the design engineers at Toulouse considering any ideas from the test pilots....."Pilots!...Poo....I spit on dem...!"
On the other hand....there's nothing like a tray table when dinner is served.