Originally Posted by
ThermionicScott
Of course -- what I was envisioning was front
and rear brifters that used micro-ratcheting "friction"...

OK, Retroshift has a "brifters" set with friction levers both front and rear instead of friction front/indexed rear. Look here and scroll down to the "Audax" version:
Cyclocross Shifters
Friction is about as "micro-ratcheting" as you can get. Index rear shifting required specific incremental movement to shift properly and, done right, there is no need to trim between steps as there is with front shifting.