Todou told Suzaku, to do what he believes is right.
And that he'll respect Suzaku will, even if it's against his own.
But he also told him to follow through with his ideals to the end, no matter what the consequences are.
Suzaku smiled in return, happy that Todou acknowledged him.
Todou reminded me of Captain Bravo in this scene
As for Yuphie, the choosing of painting and choosing of her knight is totally diffrent issue.
Although there were many comparisons with it.
She was there to choose which painting to give prize to.
The one she wanted to choose was done by an artist who's a mix with Eleven blood,
So they advised her not to choose. Instead, they suggested she choose the painting of the emperor.
The reporters were asking Yuphie political questions, that were out of place there.
They asked question such as who she wants to pick as her knight. They were told to keep the question on the topic of the paintings, and not political issues.
She was having hard time choosing between her ideal and political ideal, on both the paintings and about her knight. But seeing Suzaku in Lancelot, and the reporters all criticizing him for being Eleven, she made her choice for Suzaku.
Basically, the painting was used as a plot device to comparen and relate with her current situation.