Every website comes to problems like these when changing things, they cause an uproar, some people like the new look, some people hate it and this will go on until the site dies completely. The same will eventually happen here on the forums although not to the extent of the changes on YouTube. If they want people to use then they have to force it eventually, it might seem unfair but its something we all need to get used to even if we dont like it so much, all we can do other than that is go to another website that is similar but in the case of YouTube they're one of the only decent video upload websites. I doubt they will change things back after all the money they must have put into the new design, I think a lot of the features you miss could be brought back like customisation, perhaps even better branding for partners.
If your friends on YouTube dont like viewing it on your channel they will have to get used to it, it is being forced soon so if they will be sticking around there's no choice, I wouldn't go changing it back either based on a few peoples opinions, do what you would like to yourself and weight up the pros and cons