That would be like going back to dial-up internet. I'm a fan of vintage bikes and for the first 25+ years of my life I rode friction shifting bikes. Which I still like, but doesn't compare to the ease of using a good set of brifters or even indexed barends.

So, to answer your question, no. I would never go to the effort to remove a quality indexed system and change to run friction. But if I had a bike with a friction setup, I would ride it and love it.