I don't see autoaim as a crutch for n00bs at all. It isn't like Metroid Prime autoaim where you can easily lock onto any enemy. The range for autoaim is really small and to kill someone with it when you're locked on requires a ton of bullets. In most situations you'll be at a major disadvantage relying on autoaim.
So why have autoaim at all? If you didn't have it, you would either have to always be in over-shoulder-view, which diminishes your field of view or whenever you hit L1 to aim, the camera would have to zoom in for over-shoulder-cam. The zoomed out standard view allows you to survey your environment and plan out your attacks much better.
My Top 5:
Shadow of the Colossus, Metal Gear Solid 3, Shenmue, Skies of Arcadia, Chrono Trigger
My 2 nex-gen systems: PS3 
and Wii 
Prediction Aug '08: We see the PSP2 released fall '09. Graphically, it's basically the same as the current system. UMD drive ditched and replaced by 4-8gb on board flash memory. Other upgrades: 2nd analog nub, touchscreen, blutooth, motion sensor. Design: Flip-style or slider. Size: Think Iphone. Cost: $199. Will be profitable on day 1.
