So, whenever I need to move a group of edges or faces along their normal I use the transform component tool. this gives me essentially the same tool that exists when I extrude edges or faces. I'm wondering what determintes which component the manipulator handle aligns with. I often want to snap it to a vertex or edge along one or more axes, but if it aligns with the wrong edge/vert/face I often can't do that.
I attached an example of what I'm talking about.