I have tried just about every contacts widget going and had about given up on finding the perfect one but, thanks to fango, I have now. I have Animated Widget Contact as one group widget on my home page taking up one space. When I press it I get a circle of my favourites and when I click on one of them I get the action I have previously chosen for the as the priority eg call home, call mobile, text, email. If I want to do something different I long-press and get the other choices up. Not just for contacts either but also apps and web shortcuts.
I've no connection with the app, never heard of it before I read it here but it's exactly what I was looking for. The Pro version (same functionality, limited number of widgets) is pricy at