I just implemented an alternating stat view, based on the sort order, which worked well enough for my needs.
MessageIndex.template.php:
switch ($context['sort_by'])
{
case 'views':
echo $topic['views'], ' ', $txt['views'];
break;
case 'likes':
if (!empty($modSettings['likes_enabled']))
{
echo $topic['likes'], ' ', $txt['likes'];
break;
}
// fall through
default:
echo $topic['replies'], ' ', $txt['replies'];
break;
}