T. I agree. The design is fine and when rigged right it will fly 'hands off' so you can play with the radio while your left hand holds the cyclic. The collective should stay where you put with no friction applied.
However, I have flown quite a few with collective problems. Its a maintenance issue. The collective spring preload should be checked by flight testing when any adjustment of the control system is performed. It is a quick and simple adjustment that seems to get overlooked and is potentially disastrous. It also makes it most unpleasant to fly.
If you find an Enstrom that does this, get it sorted out. It should have been done before it was released to service.