Well, the guardian as crime boss was not the real identity of which I speak, which I guess would be the spoiler of spoilers for people who haven't had that reveal, and he's also not objectively evil, but he's definitely used to having the final word and getting his way. And Tav does have the option to respond to a push to use the tadpoles with, "I'm trying to have it removed. I thought you were helping me." (which I think I only learned in one of my four playthroughs).
I'm all for a predicament system that provides more of a plus and minus thing to either decision. But I never found the illithid powers all that empowering, so leaving them behind didn't feel like much of a sacrifice (or one at all, honestly.) They mostly seemed like slightly repackaged versions of abilities other party members already possessed. I'm not suggesting you or anyone should feel the same way, and I hope neither is anyone else. I confess, after CP2077, re-playing all the Mass Effect games... the idea of something taking over one's mind from within now seems altogether trope-y, just from a coincidence of recent gaming experiences, I'm sure. So perhaps that's clouding my perceptions of the issue.
This game did seem to be filled with stories that seemed important but turned out... not so much.
. So if the argument is that the entire tadpole system kind of made a molehill out of a mountain, then I entirely agree.
Like, it seems completely unrealistic to me that Jaheira, via the murder investigator in the Elfsong, learns that Sarevok might be behind the murders and doesn't even react at all when she's in the party. I'm playing through this time to see if that is still the case with Jaheira and Minsc in the Temple of Bhaal.
But of course, that doesn't really affect the central story of BG3 like the tadpoles do.
