Peace,
In my opinion, al-bashar, adam and even al-waraa are all names for Humanity. Adaam is a proper name for al-bashar/al-Insaan/al-ins and al-waraa (which is not in the Quran).
And so banoo adami just refers to Aadamu just as banoo isra'eela refers to isra'eelu.
I considered this at one time as well. But although we are in clay right now, al-insaan, al-bashar or Aaadamu is more than this clay and will exist after this clay. So whether the angels were told to pay respects when we were physical or before we were physical makes no difference. You are confusing the issue of bowing in devotion to physical statues with paying respects to real beings (which even the stars and sun can do as Joseph's dream shows us God bless him and keep him). When Joseph's parents sajadoo to him they may have been prostrating or they may just have been paying respects without prostrating. In Africa in some Muslim regions (the hausa) people still physically bow down (prostrate) to the king. They are just paying respects, this does not mean that they view him as God.(although I don't agree kingship). It is the Muslim view that we shall not bow to anyone who is not God as a symbolic gesture, but this is an empty gesture if we serve anything or devote ourselves to anything in a way that we are only to serve God and devote ourselvs to Him.
Godbless,
Anwar
