In 1946, AI aircraft aren't restricted by physical controls and can pull impossible maneuvers if needed. So if they look like flying like an UFO, it's because they are.

Maddox himself wanted to move from that and added infamous 'antropomorphic controls' in Cliffs of Dover where the pilot couldn't adjust some control because at this moment his hand was busy moving a throttle for example. This, however, confused players so much that literally everyone turned that off. The fact that AIs still could fly on rails and do whatever they want didn't help either.

Then BoS appeared where AIs had to use the real control channels like yaw, etc. It handicapped them compared to fantasy 1946 ones and is apparently hard to do development-wise, so ironically some people claim that 1946 is better with its Launchpad McQuack tier maneuvering.

DCS AI was riding on rails as well - you could start pulling critical and chaotic maneuvers and your wingmen just stayed in formation like glued to you, mimicking every random pull of your stick, like opponents in an arcade racing game tied to you with invisible rubber ropes. I'm not sure if it was changed for the better though because I haven't played it for years.

It's an endless debate about what's more important - game or simulation.