Friedman does offer great customer support. I have seen him offer repairs on amps bought second hand that people have modded.
Kyle Rhodes and Nik at Ceriatone are the two Amp manufacturers that I deal with almost exclusively and that has as much to do with customer service as anything else. Hell Nik helped me with an issue on a build that wasn't even his. Kyle Rhodes has also been very helpful even when it didn't directly benefit him. He has even offered help on a few things that I would only expect from a good friend.
As far as pedals I pretty much use Deadweald for my boost and now noise gates as I actually consider him a good friend and he makes great products.
Now if I could find a guitar manufacturer that I could get a similar business relationship as I have with KSR, Ceriatone, and Deadweald I think I would be set.
It's nice to be able to contact the person who designed your gear and they know who you are, what you have, and what you like. We have a lot of great options now and really there is no reason to give your money to someone who doesn't value you as a customer. This isn't like when I was growing up buying Peavey, Marshall, and boss stuff where you are just another faceless customer.
Having said that for me it's a two way street. I try to do what I can for these manufacturers and their user communities(like answering questions about settings, recommendations, etc)
