This is indeed one of my problems with the modern obsession with Hans Zimmer - he has such a grand status that he can just write whatever he feels like is suitable and the directors he works with will more than likely just be like 'oh yeah awesome, hans zimmer made my music'. Rather than 'this is good but I want the oboe to express the anxiety the protagonist is feeling as he sees her from the window, but then when he looks back, the oboe should reflect the contentedness he feels around his family'.

A composer/director duo is also an enriching place of idea exchange, too, shaping the very foundations of a movie, something you can't exactly do by plugging in data in front of a computer. It could give raw musical ideas, though (like the art images above)