True it's better to keep UK as a friend however I don't think it should be done absolutely on UK terms. You can't say you leave and then expect that you will get everything you want without giving anything in return. That was a big mislead on the leave campaign saying that EU will accept us in single market and everything will be ok without saying that it's actually in the EU hands to decide. How long did France block UK membership? Is UK convinced that no one will do it again with UK joining single market?
There are simple rules:
You don't have any ties with EU and you pay 10% on your transactions
You have some ties with EU and you have some obligations (like freedom of movement).
No one forces UK to become an EEA country. They can choose not to join. However as always in life every choice has it's consequences.
The UK is an important trading partner for other EU members and everyone will want to keep it that way.
I wouldn't bet on it. Every single country can veto you. Are you sure no one will? And few officials already said that even though they want UK to be close with EU the freedom of movement is not negotiable if UK wants single market.