Mig-
I almost posted more-or-less the same idea; thank you for verifying my thoughts!
I used to fly R/C scale models. The best flying plane I ever built was a 190D9. It was stable and maneuverable (for all the reasons you pointed out). Completely viceless. By comparison, any short-coupled a/c was twitchy and viscious. 190A's were not a lot of fun!
What else did I find? (this all before any online experience)
F4U- great roll, but rather heavy on the controls. Tendency to snap hard out of sustained turns. Engine-off performance was terrible, with little elevator authority.
P51- flew like it was on rails, but had a tendency to drop nose in sustained turns. Aileron authority greatly diminished at slow speed, overuse of rudder while slow resulted in a spin.
Zero- No vices. Very predictable flight (other than pronounced pitch-up with flaps).
Ki43- Very maneuverable. Snap rolls were easy to enter and exit.
ME109- sensitive to pitch, snap rolls were easy to enter and violent. Not a plane that I could ever "relax and fly".
Spitfire- a kite, pure and simple. Not overly fast, and could be floated down to a crawl. Ground handling was the only drawback.
P40- a real turd. Lost energy quick with power off (cowl drag), and didn't get it back easily. Always felt I had to stay ahead of it.
P39- stable, though slow to maneuver. Kind of a mushy flight envelope.
Ki100- fast! I used this one for combat, and it was a maneuverable little beast.
A26- a little underpowered, otherwise stable. Engine-out flight was possible, but required full attention. With both engines gone, it glided like a brick.
Had many others that have escaped my mind at the moment.
