fxwz, why don’t you go and introduce yourself in the presentation topic 
Also, it’ very true that until you think of DC’s as real, different people from you (like ND’s), they may as well be so, as it has the same effect on you whether you behave to them in a certain way, since you are actually convincing yourself there is no difference during those moments and WL. And autonomous DC’s sure make you feel like treating them like normal people, that’s the way everyone’s used to IWL anyway, it comes natural to (and of course it’s very useful for experiencing social situations).
But, of course, DC’s can still be treated as puppets, as long as you realize and accept they are just this when you want. Many people feel guiltless when using brute force on DC’s that are used for that purpose, and rightly so, our dreams are open to all possibilities, so it’s very possible to spawn up some puppet DC’s for practice 