but I will not advise him against their wishes. Maybe I'm wimping out, but our friendship is important.
I don't think this is wimping out. I don't think it's either possible or advisable to try to involve oneself in every fight. Better to pick the ones that have real personal importance when balanced against the potential loss.
Guess what? The topic didn't come up - there were ten people at dinner and we were separated from our friends, so there was no real chance to talk. Saw their son earlier in the day and he commented again on the sly look, so the story will continue.