You can make your default Opus view just about however you want (I think Explorer shows you a different 'Favorites' system though). You'll probably want to disable the Update Default Lister automatically when closing a lister option under Settings->Preferences->Launching Opus->Default Lister first... then, open a lister and set the view to however you want it, and then use the Settings->Set As Default Lister menu option to 'save' the lister view as your default...
There are alot of options for controlling the view... so you may want to have a peek at the Folder Formats guide in the FAQ section to get a handle on how things work if you have any trouble.
There's no way you can sync view settings between Windows Explorer and Opus... two separate apps with separate config controls.