Just to speak to a critical point: on an aircraft without leading edge devices, there is no point to configuration changes being fed to the AOA indicator. This is exactly where the whole business of knowing AOA vs. IAS comes into play. The wing will stall at pretty much the same AOA regardless of configuration (I say about because there MIGHT be some small changes in airflow due to configuration - mostly related to prop wash, minor in singles, significant in twins and of course MASSIVE in some multis - ask a L188 driver what I mean. The AOA indicator is trying to tell you where you are relative to the actual AOA from which all wing performance is derived. Stall is only one, and it is the point at which flow separates rapidly over the top surface - not at all dependent upon things such as flap position or aircraft weight - all of which means a mess of calculations to try to get the same information from IAS.
Going back to the other sub-plot of the topic: If the AF447 guys had been taught to fly by an AOA - and taught WHY and HOW it related to lift, there is a very good chance they could have been aware of just what information of all that was on their panel was most critical - or in this case, what was NOT on their display - AOA. While most instrumentation and avionics put distance between pilotage and pilot, there is a likelihood that use of AOA could bring them together.
Many, many years ago, I was spoiled by spending some time with some jet jocks. There was no HUD in those days, and to be a fighter pilot, you had to keep your eyeballs and cranium on a constant swivel - to stay alive. NO WAY you were going to be looking at an ASI or even an AOA indicator to fly the airplane to its maximum performance. They taught me to fly in an airplane with very little excess of thrust but 100% head out of cockpit. I don't recommend trying to manage a light twin with one fan in the process of being caged that way, mostly because I kind of do that by the book due to lack of familiarity (my only multi I flew only on maintenance and training trips). But on singles - including some with pretty rude stall and spin behaviour - I can pretty much take a wing to its limit and have it at any one of three stages before a full stall with complete confidence. I could do the same thing AND find the best rate, angle, etc. sweet spots with an AOA WITHOUT all of that pretty disciplined training and do so in a completely unfamiliar airplane.
Win, Win on the safety front (and performance as well).