I really don't like how the favorites work within the stock contact app as I didn't select those to be my favorites and it's really not customizable how I would want it to be.
I concur that quick shortcuts are needed, but the stock contacts app certainly provides a way to both ADD and REMOVE contacts from the FAVORITES list. Just click on the STAR icon in the upper right corner when a contact page is displayed to control this feature.
For me, I add pics to ALL of my contacts via the PC GMAIL interface. I have Panda Home with the sliders on each side. The contents of these bars are constant regardless of the page I am currently on. I have added shortcuts to my favorite games on the left side and to a subset of my favorite contacts on the right side. It can hold plenty, but I have a short list of just 20 entries which displays their photo and I get quickly to their contact entry where I can select dial or text (or more) as I want.
Speed dial is not the same when using a smart phone - you gotta wake it up, then swipe a few times and press a few buttons. But this has helped me and is easy to do!
