should you be able to turn the front cv axles by hand when the machine is in neutral and all wheels off the ground

 

Yes,they free wheel until the awd engages the hubs. Sometimes while doing this you can inadvertently cause one axle to partially lock. That is you can go so far and it will lock,turn it backwards,then go forward again and usually unlocks and free wheels again. The awd is electrical/mechanically operated.