John,
  This Naval aviator totally disagrees with your assessment of the worth of AOA.  In addition to carrier approaches, I used it when dogfighting when I needed to extract optimum lift from the wing (like in rolling scissors, for example), and for idle cruise descents to save fuel around the boat during blue water ops (that means no divert field for non-Navy guys).  In my ES, it gives me an aural warning when I'm approacking a stall which is a GOOD thing to know.  If I ever lose my engine, I can also use it to establish an optimum glide for any given weight.
  AOA isn't a crutch, it's a tool and one I'm very glad to have in my panel.   Skip Slater
  N540ES