I’ve done all that you stated except man the wheel, which is normally a low-level enlisted man. He just does what he is told.
Your analysis is correct.
The crew of the Fitz screwed the pooch, big time.
And many of them face General Courts Martial for Manslaughter. With almost certain conviction.
I manned the wheel myself and it is a challenge. It takes time to get the ship on the compass reading you are told to steer to. It is customary to repeat the course command when you get it. That way the OOD knows you got the correct heading. When you get to the target compass course, you slow the turn to avoid overshooting it. Many times you get a new course before you reach that target course. When you are told to “Turn right to 270,” you better turn right even though you could get to 270 faster by turning left.
It would be wild if the entire cause of the collision was the helm light went out and no one had a working flashlight.