The power booster on one of these cars just makes the pedal easier to push, that’s a whole different ballgame compared to an ABS system.
For the vast majority of drivers out there ABS will kick the crap out of a manual disk car. Unless maybe you’re a professional driver and threshold braking expert, otherwise ABS will stop you faster the large majority of the time. And even if you’re that guy in the rain or snow you’re gonna have a tough time. Traction control and ABS are tough to beat, and their performance is a heck of a lot more consistent.
Simplicity is nice, but it has its limits. I haven’t seen any standalone ABS systems though, so it’s kinda moot. But yeah, the auto industry is right. The new braking systems out there now are much better than anything that ever came on these cars, and better than even the aftermarket stuff you can bolt on.