True, in as far as a series recording goes. For a one-off recording clicking an EPG entry is much like the bar codes and VideoPlus codes - you can check what got set up and intervene if necessary, you still have ultimate control (even with series links, if you can be bothered to monitor the recording schedule). I do take your point, but I still see EPG as a "helper" and AR as a "controller" (hopefully benevolent but not necessarily).
I like the sound of the Topfield solution, having some kind of valid period during which the machine "can record" and a period within that when it "must record", with the AR marker used as part of the logic but not the whole logic. Without the equivalent of the Topfield's API though, it's a step beyond what we will be able to achieve.
Blue sky wish list: big padding margins, bookmarks set at AR start and end marks.