Theres a few different kinds of PIC time.

Essentially every airline looking at this stuff specifies that they only count PIC time where one was the person that signed for the aircraft.

If you log a couple minutes of PIC time here and there because of "sole manipulator" or some other technicality, though you may legally be justified in doing so, you're going to harm yourself more than it'd ever help. Thats going to get you on the receiving end of quite a few tough questions in an interview and you're not going to win.

When airlines say they want / prefer PIC time, they're saying they want what comes along with it... ie: being a captain. Not that you managed to figure out a way to put it into your logbook.