I am of a similar opinion to you, but I can see why some casuals might like XV more. XV's combat is more automated with tracked attacks, auto linkstrikes, auto dodging, etc. All this can be done with basically 2 buttons (Attack and Guard). This makes learning controls really easy.
Automata's design is much less handholdy, and more precise and consistent. Pressing the attack button won't make 2B run up to the enemies; she'll just attack once where she is standing. The player has to play skillfully to figure out distance in a 3D space and direct attacks correctly. Dodging needs to be timed so players need to pay more attention to enemy attacks. Having two buttons for attacks, along with pod shooting and laser abilities on top can make the controls seem complex for casuals. Adjusting to the different cameras will also require time/skill.
Automata caters to casuals too, but does so without dumbing down its gameplay. The easy mode lets people use chips to adjust combat to their comfort levels (auto attack only, auto evade only, etc.). This isn't explained well (or at all) in the demo though, so I don't blame people for not knowing this. The full game might possibly inform players in advance perhaps?
_/¯
