Too bad people weren't as huggy and supportive of Lex as they will be to Lana when she starts to go dark.

Well, I think Lana's upbringing probably plays a role, too. She always had people who loved her. The longer the series goes on and the more backstory we get for young Lex, the more damaged he seems to have been even before he got to Smallville. I'm not sure that could have been fixed by hugs and support, even from Clark (and it's not like he never got support from Clark in seasons 1-3). I doubt, at least as long as Lionel was alive, he ever could have really broken free, at least in the canon-verse as opposed to the fanon-verse.