I have friends visiting from Albany for the weekend. I live in the East Village. They would be arriving around 1pm on a Friday.

I'm suggesting that they drive to Hoboken (there's parking near the PATH for $16-$20/day), and then it's 2 quick stops to the Village.

This seems much easier than taking the Lincoln Tunnel, finding reasonable parking in Manhattan, and then schlepping to the subway. Another option would be hopping on NJT or even Metro North somewhere farther out, but that doesn't seem to be any faster or cheaper. Does that sound right?

Does Google's suggested route make sense?

I87 -> 17 -> 3 -> local streets

It's the same route the bus to/from Albany takes, and aside from traffic leading into the tunnel, I've rarely seen it congested. (Sometimes the bus takes I87 -> 17 -> 80 -> 95 -> tunnel, but at that point I don't think it makes much of a difference.)