@northernsky
You see that is just it, Auto-Attack for things like Full Thrust would lessen your effectiveness. Through my experiences thus far in the game I have found the other basic attacks to be situational. Also they have purpose in things like Battle Regimens (Mind you BRs can be a little flaky and seemingly insignificant).

I just hope that it's one of the things that has been considered when implementing Auto-Attack. Without more information, it's hard for me to make a call one way or the other. If they considered ways to do these types of things, then by all means I can see this as a positive direction.

I think the intricacies of the current system are not taken advantage of because they are minimal, and to notice them you have to pay very close attention to things like overall damage output and group dynamics. Most gamers want to have a good time, and easily see the benefits of their in-game skills. Even I will admit, I can easily spam Light attacks and be mostly successful. However I have found enjoyment in figuring out the subtle differences to placing skills at the right time against tougher mobs.

For an example, just last night we would use Heavy Thrust to bind Raptors that would get out of control, then have 2 Lancers balance the timing of Twisting Vice in order to prevent 90% of those AOE attacks that Raptors can do. It paved the way for less healing, and more offensive magic. This in turn came full circle as Raptors would want to attack mages, but could not because we would keep them bound long enough that they would swap targets back towards our Marauder Tank.
I would hope that these kind of things can continue under the coming Auto-Attack system.