I don't think the problem is that they are unreadable, it's that while your patent attorney friend can provide a clear explanation of the patent on narrow groun

I don't think the problem is that they are unreadable, it's that while your patent attorney friend can provide a clear explanation of the patent on narrow grounds and get it approved, some other attorney can come along a year later and file a suit based on a much looser interpretation. So a patent is dual-natured: it's strictly interpreted at approval, and loosely interpreted while enforced.