Python, Ruby, and Javascript were built by emacs users. All the modern goodies the new hip people rave about.
Web browsers were created by emacs users. The entire industry we make a living in came from the belly of emacs.
But 2 guys at some company refused to follow coding standards, so yeah...
The problem is when they don't do it right, and it's impossible to configure it to have the correct behavior.
For example, JetBeans, when you type a ", automatically inserts the matching ". I couldn't figure out how to disable this feature, and it leads to strings like "data"".
Syntax-highlighting editors only seem necessary for scripting languages where you don't get proper error messages. In C/C++, if you miss a " on a string, the compiler rules will ensure you an error message in the right place. If you miss a " in Javascript, the console error may be useless, so you need a syntax-highlighting editor to find your bug.
Honestly, I have seen so many developers fumbling around with their "intellisense" and the kinda of things you are talking about, it makes me sleepy watching them. I feel like if only spent time learning how to program than their code completion and refactoring tools, they might produce better, more efficient work.