Which is the better airplane?

The German system was easier for the pilots in combat, it may well have limited the pilots ability to get the maximum range or endurance the plane/engine was capable of.

I do know that I prefer a manual transmission in bad conditions (snow, I am not anywhere near quick enough to outshift a "modern" automatic) but I also know that some people can wreck a manual transmission in under 20,000 miles let alone a clutch in normal driving so from a maintenance standpoint there isn't much contest.

I agree with Shortround6. With the Kommandogerät system, it was the engineers at BMW who decided what were the "best" possible power plant settings, and not the pilot behind the stick. But like all compromises this "one size fits all" concept obviously had it's shortcomings, and IMHO this arrangement would only frustrate a seasoned pilot who understood how to get the most performance from his airplane. But for NAZI Germany this type of technology was probably necessary, being that their flight training program suffered more and more as the war dragged on. Green German pilots needed every advantage they could harvest at this point, and I'm certain that the Kommandogerät system was warmly welcomed by them.

As Shortround6 has illustrated, keeping things simple can pay dividends. A) Easier for the pilot to manage, equals less the pilot has to think about. B) Less pilot management, equals less that he can muck it up. I'm an aircraft mechanic, every extra knob or switch you provide pilots to mess with, increases the likelihood that they'll break it. Push button, out comes peanut. When the peanut doesn't come out, they throw a fit.