Asim has benefited from the friendship but actually its Shukla who was 'saved' by Asim. Without Asims strong support Bahu bashing(which helped shukla get sympathy from his mcp fanbase) would have been impossible.
If Asim had turned against Shukla and joined Paras in the beginning Shukla would have been in real trouble. The channel would have been forced to admit Shuklas faults. Asim barked in peoples faces on Shuklas behalf for a LOOONG time and that has really helped Shukla. Without sidekicks hes a big fat zero no pun intended