Is obedience to parents obligatory in abandoning something permissible that they have forbidden, or in abandoning something permissible that one imagines they would not approve of, even if they are not present or are traveling?

Righteousness towards parents and obedience to them in what is good are obligatory. If they command something that does not involve disobedience to Allah, and it contains benefit for them, and no harm for you, then obedience to them is obligatory, whether they are present or absent. Obedience to them is obligatory even if they are disobedient [sinful], provided that the command benefits them and does not harm you. However, their mere knowledge of a desire for you to do a permissible act or leave it does not make that act or omission obligatory, but rather commendable. If they command something in which there is no benefit for them, or something that harms you, then obedience to them is not obligatory. For righteousness towards parents and obedience to them does not mean nullifying the son's personality and preventing his independence.