Ani e'emod leyad chaver sheli.
Can this also mean metaphorically "I will stand by my friend," like in a time of stress or crisis?
‘My friend’ can imply ‘the friend I mentioned’ (e.g. החבר שלי), and while in common, spoken Hebrew this interpretation is fine, it’s not the case in more formal registers.. A more accurate way to translate it would be ‘a friend of mine’.
You're right - חבר שלי instead of החבר שלי is colloquial. But it's common and should be accepted in my opinion.
Not saying it shouldn’t be, but ‘a friend of mine’ was not.
Then I agree.
What's wrong with "I'll be standing"?
Nothing. I would report it.
stupidly fast pronunciation.