I am not sure I really understand the reservation against the manual safety on the 1911. If you shoot as often as you should properly operating the pistol should become natural. Dropping the safety before you fire should be muscle memory. If you develop a consistant manual of arms you should do it subconsciously even under stress.

There have been some nice improvements to the 1911 since its inception. The extended safety, better sights, lowered ejection port, flared mag well, better trigger, beavertail all make it a little nicer to shoot, but I prefer the 70 series firing system with GI guide rod.

Its hard to find a semi-custom 1911 with a 70 series now. Springfield has it but you have to ditch the ILS and most manufacturer's love MIM parts.