I see what you mean, but they have shown that they are willing to do minor favors for him, like being on call for Barb while he is at Bronycon for example. This makes them more than acquaintances for him, it's just that they're not gonna do much more than that for him, and he doesn't really give them a reason to, you know?I'm probably splitting hairs here but I would consider those kinds of people to be more acquaintances than friends. Someone you hang out with once in a while and share interests with (regardless of whether those interests are drinking beer, watching sports, playing games, etc.) are acquaintances; friends are the people you hide corpses for.
He doesn't strike me as the person who would care or try to get people to open up for him.