Personally, I just like the extra control when you find yourself in difficult conditions and I get annoyed when a sudden incline takes an auto by surprise. It's niche, I grant you, but that's why I like manuals. I also don't much value the reduced effort of an auto but that's personal preference.
I get where you're coming from and that's why I use the paddles in non-commuter situations. I used to hate the idea of a CVT til I got my OBW. Now, especially in tricky offroad situations, I love what that + X-Mode unlocks Buuut I also fully realize that if the computers glitch, I'm fucked.
With my previous 5MT, sure, it sucked in a long ass traffic jam, wasn't as fun on some kinds of terrain, but... Manual. Post-crash dystopian America, the older manuals are the only cars that'll keep going. DIY on my 99 Forester was easy. On this one... yeah, I'd be fucked