The AI is an instrument that's overdue for better human engineering.

Almost everyone's had a moment of confusion figuring out which way the
plane was banking, because of the way the horizon moves but the
airplane "wings" stay level.

I believe NASA's done studies showing that if you simply had the
current AI's "wings" tilt towards the side you were turning, pilots had
no problem instantly understanding their situation.

I seem to recall ads in old magazines pushing a visual horizon line on
the windshield such as you described. I think this was pre-laser.

I also saw a neat AI from the '60s on eBay that actually had a little
dome protuding towards you, with a tiny model airplane inside. If you
were banking / diving the little plane was too. Very cool.

Cheers, Kev