Great post. My child does have toys with batteries, we don't limit what he can play with. The encouraging part is that like you as a child, my son rarely plays with the battery operated toys. They are usually one trick ponies that wear off fast.
His favorite toys are any small figures that he can use to make creative stories. Army men, GI Joe's, Beanie Boo stuffed animals. His favorite thing to do is read books!
Sounds like a wonderful childhood he is having. We've made the deliberate choice to not have any while we still have full control, but we will be up for reconsidering it once he starts asking for toys for his birthday. It will be on a case by case basis, but I have a feeling that most of the time the answer will still be no.