Geoffers, regarding the AP out button they have done something similar on the EC175 ie IIRC the first press puts it into SAS, the second press dumps it altogether. It sounds a trivial change but I suspect there are some certification issues at play. After all, why have the AP cancel button under your thumb unless it is requirement to be able to quickly dump the AP?
I suspect that once again it stems from old fogies who don't trust new-fangled electronics whilst maintaining that of course the pilot should never screw up!