7 -roles- sounds easier to keep track of than the 9 which BMs currently have.
A vote for either player is a vote on both players, because it's a vote for the role.
Someone says something you want to question, but you're not sure who their partner is? Just ask that person. Their partner should recognize their own partner's name and jump in if needed, as well as the targeted person answering as they please when they can.
A sample votecount post might look like this:
Player1/Player2: Player7/Player8, Player11/Player12, Player3/Player4
Player3/Player4:
Player5/Player6:
Player7/Player8: Player9/Player10, Player13/Player14, Player1/Player2
Player9/Player10:
Player11/Player12:
Player13/Player14:
Not voting: Player5/Player6
As a recently brand new to Mafia player - I don't believe the pairing looks ANY more confusing than the original time I saw a real votecount. I was confused originally, it got sorted out. Exactly what a BM is about and for I think, and this isn't -that- much harder. It's both more and less to keep straight, to my perception - equals out as different, not worse.
Edited to add:
This can be further helped by regular vote counts, all showing the paired names.
Difficulty in pairings by having the understanding that it's a 'newbie' game - if a pair cannot agree on some specific course of action at -all-, be that who to vote for or who to night kill or something not to talk about, the OP will contain suggestions that the experienced player 'cooperate' with the newbie, so the newbie can learn through direct experience why the IC's suggestions might have been good ones, and TOO, if it's the newbie having a problem with their IC, allow the newbie to 'request replacement' for their personal IC - and for that IC to 'have to bow out' if their newbie wants them gone - unless the newbie's so crazy they try to do that then split....then let the IC back in and junk the newbie who's probably already disappeared I guess.
Unique problem players can be handled as unique problems? But if the OP makes it clear that if there's a difference of decision, the pair should go with the newbie's choice if the pair cannot agree on the same choice, that will probably resolve most of those problems that may or may not occur, and the newbie is likely to quickly get information to realize that they were foolish (or smart) to not cooperate with their specific IC.