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>> My car was obviously full of drunks (luckily, all over the legal age). The officer checked my papers, had me do a quick field test (which I passed), asked me where I was headed, and admonished me to get my friends home safely. Which I did.

> Okay, so these days cops are our surrogate mothers, only with the power to arrest or even kill us.

Yeah, sort of... Certainly, back then the cops still had a lot of discretion with regard to how they handled a questionable situation. In comparing the differing results of different friends trying different tactics during a road-stop, I found that being polite and cooperative won every time over being defensive or confrontational. Girls could sweet-talk but that wasn't an option for us guys, which was fine with me anyway.

My feeling is that if you want to avoid a possible DUI, the proper approach is:

Don't be defensive or belligerent (both of which are common attitudes of drunks, duh!). Instead, be as calm and rational as possible.
Play along, within reasonable limits -- don't give the cop an excuse to think you're uncooperative. The copy asked me where I was headed, and I told him the truth: "Home, about 8 miles that way." He knew my home address from my license, so there was no reason to argue that he had no right to ask me that question. OTOH, if he asked me whether the girl next to me was my girlfriend, that's personal, I would have probably joked my way out of it (e.g. "Gee, Officer, I wish she was, but sadly, no" or something).
Don't drink and drive, have a designated driver.
Or if you do, never drink enough that you're over the legal limit.
And take the time, with a friend, and teach yourself how to pass a practical field test (where the cop tells you to do stuff). With practice, it's not hard, as long as you're not falling-down drunk. Then, when the time comes, take it and PASS IT.

That's my advice, YMMV.