Q1: I would leave them alone for now. Sorry, but unless I know what my relationship is within the group, I would treat them like outsourced work (which means, I would avoid). There's just too many things that can go wrong - they may have gone belly up for a very good reason (ie - they maybe can't read the business trends or have no sense in user interface design).

If I were to do anything, I would help them find contract or consulting work and keep in touch to learn their capabilities - no need to rush into things.

Q2: Again, I would leave them alone, or I would give them the idea to work on (while leaving them alone). This is sounds like a recipe for disaster to me - a group of 4 people being given some work to do by an outsider, and the group of 4 doesn't like the idea enough to sacrifice for it...

If I'm missing some information that would change my views, please feel free to give it.