John,
  Without getting into a debate about dogfighting which is irrelevent to
Lancairs and the LML, here's where we're caught up:
  You said, "What I don't buy is that it should be used as the primary way
to determine if you are about to stall."  To a point, I agree with that.  My
point is that a properly calibrated AOA, by giving you a warning that you're
approaching a stall, will absolutely help you avoid entering one exactly the
same way a stall warning does.  I'm not in any way suggesting that it takes
the place of stall training or testing your plane to be able to recognize
the onset of a stall.  But to downplay the value of an AOA in a civilian
airplane is shortsighted.
  My airline now has AOA displayed in the cockpits of our newest Boeing
aircraft and do simulator training in recoveries from windshear and some
unusual attitudes as well as terrain avoidance recoveries using it as our
primary reference for extracting maximum lift from our planes.  These aren't
tactical jets either, but AOA is just as valuable to me in my ES as it is in
the airliners I fly.
  Ultimately, it's up to each builder to choose whether or not to put an
AOA in their plane.  I advocate them to anyone who asks and cringe when I
hear them pooh-pooh'd by non-believers.  As a Naval aviator yourself, I'm
surprised that you  don't advocate them as much as I do.
  Skip Slater