At my chapel here, I see many sheepish husbands doing everything they can to placate their wives and children. Is this good or bad?
1 Cor. 7:33 simply states a fact: "he that is with a wife is solicitous for the things of the world: how he may please his wife", but St. Paul doesn't say husbands shouldn't please their wives.
Col. 3:19 seems to imply husbands should placate their wives: "Husbands, love your wives and be not bitter towards them."
Should a husband obey/compromise with the wife in everything but sin?
We don't really know them to be able to judge. Sacrificing oneself and one's wishes is a virtue ... when the matter is morally indifferent. Hey, i want chocolate cake for dinner, but my wife really prefers vanilla. "Yes, dear." That is self-sacrifice and strength, not weakness. But if he's caving to her whims on things that he decides would not be good for the souls of the family, then, yes, that would be weakness. Also, it's important to try to teach women subjection and humility, so they do have to avoid being total pushovers where they consider themselves in charge. She should be told that every time he gives in to her wishes, it's not a concession of his authority, but rather of his generosity. Otherwise, by constantly giving in on trivial things, one could give the impression that this is the rule rather than an exception.
Again, some men might have wives that will simply not accept being told what to do, and those can be a dry martyrdom for these me, and they realize the futility of putting up any fight ... knowing that it'll lead to a total blowup, threats of divorce, vitriolic assaults on the man's character, lack of peace in the family, etc.
So people keep forgetting to include considerations from the most prince of all the virtues, prudence ... the one which decides how much of what virtue can be practiced when and to what extent.
So we don't know the makeup of these women and what the husband recognize or do not recognize about whether there's any point in forcing their subjection.