I think that connected feel shows in the drive train loss for the 7AT being practically the same as the 6MT.
I do agree that it is hard to be smooth in manual mode while keeping low revs, definitely shifts smoother as revs climb.
Having driven a HKS Stage II MR-2 SC automatic for a while I am used to being careful with the throttle, though
The NSX auto would only kick down when you were really aggressive, but mine didn't have a manual mode to help on moderate occasions.