My old digital point & shoot had a manual override for everything. I could go into a mode and change the shutter speed, set the focus at a specific distance and also change the F-stop. I'd set it and when I took photos I could do it quickly as the camera didn't have to find focus or any of the other auto stuff. I could push the button and it took the photo instantly. I guess some of that is in the 'scene' selection mode of many cameras.

I think it's especially good to have the ability to set the focus manually. Helps when you're shooting quickly at a certain distance (like inside a boat) as more shots are in focus. I have a lot of out of focus shots with the new camera when I'm shooting fast.