gopro's are incredibly user friendly...all you would have to tell your friends is "stand here, push this button once, and point it at me" works evert time and you will always be framed, just takes a few times to know the distance you need to be from the subject for optimal footage for your liking.
with the hv40 its relatively easy to use and if your friends aren't retarded they will be able to run that as long as they know what and how you want the shot to be framed.
Basically its a wash. GoPros allow you to get super close follow cams and go underwater,,,the hv40 can zoom and frame jumps and make for cooler sit-in-place shots.