I have had a few families that I've never controlled in any way (except for paying bills/order groceries) - one of them were a family with my self-sim and sim versions of my friends - I laughed like a maniac every second watching them! It's very fun and interesting when you otherwise - like me - tend to micromanage your sims in absurdum sometimes.
One of my recent projents was putting Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini and Churchill under one roof - priceless! You can watch some of the mess on the
exchange...