The main reason that I recommend the MSF course over having a friend teach you to ride comes from my experiences learning to ride a horse.
I watched a wife (who was an excellent rider) trying to teach her husband to ride - this would have been grounds for a divorce! They were screaming at each other in the riding hall. Familiarity is not necessarily good in this kind of situation.
An MSF instructor is an authority - you accept more readily what he or she says, and do your best to follow their advice/instruction. Why do you think that military drill instructors act the way they do? It's not because they are sadistic and enjoy turning the recruits to jelly - they do this so that the recruits respect them and follow orders without question or discussion.
This kind of relationship is also important when learning to ride a bike - you should concentrate on what the instructor says, without discussion. If your wife/husband/buddy is teaching you to ride, you will be more likely to get into discussions or arguments.
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