Got my Thrustmaster TPR yesterday and find them an excellent piece of hardware.
Coming from the Crosswinds, my standards are not low at all, but the perpendular movement feels fantastic and the heel operation suits me much better than the foot rest.
So in my opinion they didn't drop the ball completely, but a TM Warthog Mark 2 with a quality throttle stick and gimbal on the joystick would be very welcome.