PADI requires advance ow and rescue along with 5 specialties.
In advance diver gets experience with deep and navigation. Search/recovery experience is in Rescue,as patterns are used -as in the navigation dive for advance-to find a "missing diver". Depending on which full specialties,that are chosen,which are more formal with academic and ow training, than the 5 dives for advance class have ,a diver can get quite a bit of experience with the right instructor.
Its not the agency,its the instructor and how well he/she communicates required skills to student..I have seen awful PADI-NAUI-SSI-CMAS-BSAC the list goes on and on.If a student of mine did adv/rescue/5 specialties with me and and wants a MSD card I'll pay for the card.Costs the student nothing.
For myself its a thankyou and giving recognition to my student for all the work they have put in.
NAUI requires Advanced too. That means they are getting double exposure to night/limited vis., deep and navigation instead of just trusting that they mastered it the first time around. Not only that but who knows how long it might have been since they took Advanced. This is a time to refresh and continue those skills and knowledge.
I have seen awful and great instructors from many different agencies as well. I agree that the instructor is the key, not the agency. This isn't about PADI vs. NAUI. This is about comparing their MSD programs which, in my opinion, don't really compare to each other.
The recognition to the student for the hard work they have put in has come with the certifications they have gotten thus far. MSD should not only be to recognize past hard work but to encourage more hard work and taking the next step in his diving education. If you earn an Associates degree, Bachelors degree and a Masters degree, you don't just get a PhD to recognize your hard work. It's the next and highest level and is typically the toughest to achieve.