Personally, I like to hold my snakes, it's very calming and therapeutic to me. One of my ball pythons, Ghost seems very indifferent or he likes to be out. Perhaps he's just curious, but he seems to roam and stick his head up in the air to look around. While my other ball python, Lucy seems to be quite the scardy cat, lol. She is usually really timid at first but then becomes a bit more social, but not as social as Ghost. I think it depends on the snake and the owner whether or not they handle their snakes more than just checking on them and cleaning. Bonding isn't necessary, but I personally like handling my snakes and it doesn't seem to bother them.
I personally think a thermometer and a hygrometer are necessary, because if I didn't have either I would probably be a bit confused on where my husbandry is, but that's just me.