I think the OP’s maneuvering description is the perfect storm where auto gearboxes need very careful control, bear with me.
As described you’re getting towards a jack knife situation, the trailer will be on a lean anyway as its effectively become a wheelbarrow or three wheeler pivoting on the now sideways and tilting backwards fifth wheel, at this point any sudden movements such as severe clutch judder or stalling will set up a violent rocking, handle it badly and you could easily set a pendulum going.
You even see this in action happening with tractor units on full lock in tight spaces, sudden jerky moves on full lock makes the cab rock a large amount, can easily end up with the top of the cab hitting any protrusions if inside a building or framework such as under hoppers with surrounding walkways.
Yes i can hear the groans already but this is the area where arsetronic and similar autos really show their weaknesses in operation, there is no way that an automatic (but standard) clutch engagement can be controlled as precisely as a manual gearbox with the same clutch, because you are trying to do it with one pedal, the throttle, and with the best will in the world the programming parameters can’t cater for every single clutch loading like a human can balancing clutch throttle and use of the secondary brake to make small steady controlled movements.
Do not compare this with a torque converter box as found in Terberg and other shunters which offer infinitely variable power application without undue wear and tear to a clutch.
So, as with other circs requiring intricate control, you have to learn your vehicle intimately.
Its surprising how many drivers in these circs don’t use the crawl/maneuvering/tortoise function of their auto box, or keep flicking down the gears until the very lowest gear is found.
Unless its in low, or preferably a set maneuver (if available) function of the box, the vehicle can only assume that because it needs so much throttle/fuel to make it move (because its on a jack knife and trying to push possibly three axles sideways) that its on a hill start fully loaded because it can’t move the vehicle easily…does that make sense by the way 
Hence the clutch engagement isn’t going to be right for the situation you find yourself in, leading to jerky movements or a series of minor kangaroo type starts, where if you give it the best chance by letting it know it’s maneuvering then it has more chance of giving controlled steady movement.
Learning fine clutch engagement with some autos can take some time, you can just stick your hoof to the floor out on the road and they will all cope, they are after all designed to save the lorry from the worse planks out there (and why they are here to stay), but if you take time to perfect clutch engagement by throttle control out on the road, and use appropriate lowest gear and/or maneuver function then those tight reverses become safe and smoother, and if you move the vehicle smoothly the chances of rocking that precarious tilt are reduced to as near nil as possible.
In summary, a properly loaded artic can lean a lot when maneuvering before a danger situation develops, if you keep your power inputs as smooth as possible it keeps things safe, if you allow violent jerky movements you increase the danger of trouble many fold.
By the way, i’m an advocate of driving autos in manual anyway, and one of the many reasons is so the driver controls power input and gearchanging on roundabouts and junctions where the last thing you need is the vehicle deciding to change gear just at the wrong moment on mini roundabouts, which they do.
