Like the OP's friend, the only time I had problems with clips and straps was when coming to a stop and forgetting that I had tightened my straps. You do look like an idiot falling over on your side at a stop.
I ride clipless with Look pedals in NYC traffic with no problems. Easy to get out of in an emergency and very secure when riding.
One benefit I enjoyed with clips is that the rider can still ride with the straps undone in dangerous traffic conditions, which means you're virtually riding without being locked in at all. With clipless pedals, the rider is either all-in or all-out.
I disagree. If you ride with toe-clips with the straps tightened, you are all-in period. With clipless, you may be locked-in, but you do have an exit strategy by un-clipping in an emergency. Which is why most people (like you described) ride their toe-clips with the straps undone during regular commuting. (I have never heard of someone riding clipless falling over at stop because of the normal function of clipless pedals. Although, I have seen situations where the pedal's locking mechanism have seized due to weather conditions and such, but that's a rare event. There was an episode in Paris-Roubaix many years ago, where Johann Museeuw got a flat tire on one of the cobbled sections of the race, so he slowed down to stop, but could not get his feet out of his pedals! He kept his balance for about 100 meters as he tried to unclip. Finally, the team mechanic arrived to help him out of the pedals. But, he did not fall.)
The nice thing about Look pedals, the new Shimano SL pedals, is the large platform of the pedal. I have ridden my road bike in city traffic (dodging taxis, delivery vans and wayward suburbanites) with regular shoes or sneakers using the Look pedals as platforms. No problems.
But, like you stated earlier, for a novice its just a matter of getting used to either system.