I encourage everyone to perform their jobs to the best of their ability, my only "complaint"/"concern" is the fact that lack of an AP appears to be the only reason that this flight didn't go... I can think of several outfits that fly 727s and 737s that routinely go without APs or FDs into similar, or worse, weather because as pilots they don't come up with reasons not to go, but try, to the best of their ability, to get a job done. Did you stop to think that this isn't a concern about PIC authority and more about doing/not doing your job, one could easily call PIC authority in rejecting every single aircraft that has an MEL on it etc. etc., where does PIC authority end and where does doing/not doing your job begin?