Do you consider cables to be a "component" of your system? ...do you think that cabling (AC/InterConnects/SpeakerWire) should be considered a component that is integral to your system?
No, but I sort of agree with the analogy made by @soix
...if you had to recommend a set up to someone (who wanted a nice stereo), would you consider cabling to be essential in your build price and your recommendations?
Yes, but only to the extent that cables are needed to operate the system. However, not unlike equipment stands/racks, footers, room treatments, and other auxiliaries, cables can be changed/upgraded over time and very few here have purchased their "final" cables at the time they originally assembled their system components.
If so, would you consider the cost of the cables to be on par with the cost of a component?
Not even close. I have found that different cables sound differently in my system but the impact cables have on the overall sound of the system IMO is much less than the impact of the individual components or speakers. As with @norco74 , I have made my own cables for years from both manufactured bulk cables and from scratch, but I have also purchased manufactured cables at mid to upper price ranges by companies like Cardas, PAD, Isoclean, Furutech, HT, AZ, TWL, and more. Some, but not all, of the cables I have made myself have equaled those higher priced manufactured cables I have owned, and in some cases they bettered them (i.e., one of the interconnects I constructed is currently used by a well-regarded equipment manufacturer in their personal system). My point is that cables do sound different but IMO spending a lot of money on cables is not a prerequisite or a guarantee of good sound.