I too just use the handbrake since it feels natural after growing up with it. By the time I'm accelerating I mostly don't notice if any hill-assist was engaged

I too just use the handbrake since it feels natural after growing up with it. By the time I'm accelerating I mostly don't notice if any hill-assist was engaged - but this may be a factor of my particular car, and I'm unfortunately unaware of how it feels in some other modern stickshifts.