I mostly use emacs /ssh:ab:.bashrc which I think compares favorably with

  ssh ab
  emacs .bashrc

(or anything with a URL)

my .ssh/config contains a "Host ab" section for particulars about logging into the machine.

Although you have a point. For instance there is a weird bug or two in tramp mode, like (absolute-file-p "/ssh:ab:.bashrc") erroneously returns t