Davos is one of Stannis's most loyal and reliable vassals and arguably his best friend, but is treated with disdain by some of the other lords of Westeros for his low birth. Stannis himself points out that it was the low-born Davos, and not the high-born lords, who saved the lives of Stannis and his castle garrison. Davos is one of the only men who can (even grudgingly) influence Stannis's decisions, because he values Davos's honest advice above that of noble-born flatterers.