Hah. I will confess I felt really strange getting back in the 172 at first, after so much Seminole time and having been so long since flying a 172, climbing into the right seat of that thing was... odd. After 17 hours (in a week, much to my protesting- I feel that serious learning stops after 2 hours, especially in heat) it came back pretty quickly...
Anyway, I'm just saying, I've met some absolute geniuses at ATP and some people who should not be allowed near airplanes but have the cash. You get all kinds. It's true that not everybody gets the same checkride, but most people should be getting pretty close to the same ride.. My school did have "preferred" examiners but due to a variety of reasons I ended up being the guinea pig with a lot of new examiners. I probably got a few breaks. Ray, you have the right attitude with it being the "license to learn"...