Jose wrote:
There is no means quite as good as having a CFI-I work through the
flight with the pilot.


Well, then why not have the CFI-I work through every flight? After all,
even after demonstrating takeoff, holds, cruise, and an ILS approach to
minimums at night in a driving rainstorm ending in a successful landing
with an obligatory full stop before taking off again does not prove that
the pilot is capable of doing an NDB during the day in calm winds, or
landing on a short runway after a VOR approach, or successfully
executing a go-around if a spotted deer is spotted on the runway after
an otherwise uneventful GPS approach (which has not been demonstrated
either).

There are reasonable limits as to what we have to prove all the time,
and there are cost/benefit judgements to be made.

Jose
It's not worth debating. You always have your mind made up.