Intuitively, how does friction affect motion? Does the $v$ term accomplish this to some level?

How does the equation relate to $F=ma$?

As a rough sketch without any calculation, what would you expect the trajectory over time of the exact, real pendulum motion be over time? Compare this to a plot of the solution. What would be realistic values of the parameters? Make some well-reasoned estimations if you have no intuitive sense for the scale of the parameters.