Agree with everything you've said here except for:
> I personally don't see how allowing users to manually disable automatic updates makes a product any more secure
There's tangible security benefits allowing users to update at will, not everyone lives in the same world or faces the same threats, a gay peace activist in Azerbaijan doesn't live the same life as a software developer in Atherton, CA.
A simple notification of security updates is sufficient for the most part to ride ahead of the never-ending wave of vulnerabilities.
Having the simple choice to do so is quite desirable for many people.
> I personally don't see how allowing users to manually disable automatic updates makes a product any more secure
There's tangible security benefits allowing users to update at will, not everyone lives in the same world or faces the same threats, a gay peace activist in Azerbaijan doesn't live the same life as a software developer in Atherton, CA.
A simple notification of security updates is sufficient for the most part to ride ahead of the never-ending wave of vulnerabilities.
Having the simple choice to do so is quite desirable for many people.