Must say, I prefer lock nuts over thread locker too, but not a big fan of spring washers as they have a tendency to gouge out/scratch metal if they turn.) Checking bolts weekly is not something anyone wants to do so I can put up with threadlocker if that spares me having to check things often. The peace of mind knowing everything isn't vibrating apart while I'm riding is already worth the bit of struggle threadlocker might cause. Sometimes I think Suzuki are a bit overzealous with the strength of threadlocker they use, but on the whole it's not a big problem.
As far as quality fasteners go, if you're a manufacturer and you weigh up the extra costs vs the potential problems then you might also get to the conclusion that cheap fasteners are what you're going to use. Particularly if you're a well established manufacturer with a reputation for reasonable reliability, a few complaints about fasteners isn't going to cost you your business. Particularly not if you're selling good bikes for less than the competition as you'll always have people buying despite the fasteners. It's a balancing act and I'm thinking they are balancing quite well, it could be a lot worse.
The paint is another matter altogether, I think they are skimping on that a bit too much, but it probably helps to keep the price down. Then again, if you look at my bike it's lasted well enough. I can live with having to respray the side cases once for the money I paid.