I was thinking that it would make complete sense (hehe imvho) to allow the automation panel to be loaded into a window zone ie right or left in the mixer view
WHY?
Because, while control room etc is very handy there, its very temporal; I dont use supervision etc because it cant overlay MS etc which is crucial to monitoring so I have the monitor/ref on a separate screen. Most of the automation is a mixing process so it makes sense to put it into a better position and create consistency rather than a random dialog. At least allow the panel to be reorient to portrait so that its more like a strip. I also use a touch screen and the buttons are the right size so to have it in the right side zone would be brilliant with a hardware toggle button