I forget which thread I posted it in (been a busy beaver trying to nail down everything for a review that I know I'm gonna get crucified for if I fail to mention a displaced rivet).  But there was a pilot fired for not flying with an inop APU.  So I don't know if they cleared him at the gate or pushed him somewhere, but he fired up with the GPU.

Frankly this is the one issue that still bothers me a bit.  Not a whole lot, because I am usually done anyway, but it is something hard to excuse at this stage.  And playing with the loader is going to take more time on freight flights!

I have tried to follow the VNAV complaints to the best of my ability and just can't get worked up over them because of the the way I fly.  I rarely find myself changing published approaches at the last minute because I just let Radar Contact vector me, or make the concession to plan the whole route in advance and stick to it, realizing that in real life I would have another person to share the workload with.  "Realism" comes in different flavors.  VNAV is not the only terminal descent automation there is.

Like with anything else, it all comes down to what you like and what concessions you are prepared to make.  If I were really into VNAV all the way and it was that important to me, then I'm sure I would be more sensitive to any complications.

ADDITIONAL:  Using GPU only, you can start engines any time, even after artificial horizon tilts.