Great comments. I'd say that Sophisticated Theism™ is nearly always disingenuous, since those who claim to espouse it actually worship a view 2 god and only retreat to a view 3 god as needed--e.g. in debates, where its amorphous obscurity makes it easier to argue for and harder to refute. I've been dismayed to see how often theism and intellectual dishonesty (conscious or otherwise) go hand in hand, and philosotheists (as I call them) are generally the worst offenders, since their evasions, equivocations and so on are not only frequent but seem to be knowingly deployed.

Re: "unsophisticated" and "childish", in my experience Sophisticated Theism™ is just standard theism + obfuscation + more condescension. And Feser is the apotheosis of condescending theism--he's incapable of discussing atheism without a withering sneer, and he frequently layers on the contempt so thickly it obscures whatever other points he's trying to make. Based on the number of philosotheists who namecheck him here he's been very influential, and it's a toxic influence, since whatever else they may pick up from him they nearly all adopt the arrogant contempt.

I think it's largely a defensive reaction; at some level they likely know they're erecting a framework of sophistry around childish wish fulfillment, and the condescension is a preemptive strike at anyone who might call them out for it, and also a way to try to win through intellectual bullying what they can't through the merit of their arguments. It's akin to the Karl Rove tactic of attacking your opponent's strength and/or tarring your opponent with your own weakness. Whatever the explanation, it's unfortunate, since (especially along with the intellectual dishonesty) it makes them insufferable to debate.