Amps are what they are. If you love Friedman or Marshall tone, you will be hard-pressed to get that out of a Mesa. It's certainly possible that you will find a Mesa tone you love, but if you go into it looking for something else, you will wind up dissatisfied. There are small-ish amps like the DSL 40 and the Pink Taco that are probably great for what you want. Also Bogner has some smaller amps.
If you are hell-bent on Mesa, here is some info that may help.
F30 and 5:25
These are great amps. Personally I like the F series a bit more than the Express, as the Express has a bit softer, more compressed tone and the F series is more crispy. I'd argue that the F series is closer to what you might get from a Marshall, with a high mid peak and a lot of harmonics, plus lower overall gain. I much prefer the 50W versions to the 30W versions, though. To be clear, the F50 is not a lot louder than the F30. It has a different tone and a slight bit more volume. Mostly you get more headroom. I had a couple F50 amps that I thought were awesome.
Rectoverb 25
I've had both the RV25 and Mini Recto. These are very nicely voiced for classic rock and can do modern rock well. They are Rectifiers, though. They sound like Rectifiers. Lots of mid gravel and a lot of presence. Rough and harsh compared to Marshall I think. They cut through amazingly, but also lack some of the lows that Marshall can give. Cabinet choice can help, so using a Thiele or something like a 3/4 can help. I used mine with a 4x10 that worked quite well to get a bit more classic rock tone.
The only Mesa amps I have had that really get close to classic Marshall are the Electradyne and Royal Atlantic. They are amazing sounding, but also not exactly Marshall. I have a Shiva that is closer.
You also want to consider if you are going for that "small amp" tone or if you want a small amp, but really want the "big amp" tone. I have moved back to the big amps because the small maps have their own tone. If you like that, great. But they will not sound like a Plexi or JCM800. They will sound like something else. You may like it, but they only share a bit of character. Nothing can replace the big bottles, big iron and big air movement.
So far my favorite small amp is the Mini Recto. I think that amp stands on its own. The RV25 sounds exactly the same, but with reverb. For a bit bigger, I like the F50 a lot. I think 6L6 gives a better tone in a small amp, though the Mini Rec and Mark V:25 are pretty incredible.