Yes, as the legends of old say, brave warriors like to ally with not one, not, two, not three, not four, but five or six alliances to take on a single enemy equaling a small fraction of their collective player base. So brave. So courageous. So honorable!
In a game of military and political science, surly staying dynamic and easy to work with has to count for something. In your opinion, there may very well be less valor in "wagging the dog." However you have to admit that is a pretty subjective point of view. Here you are making the argument of being more "virtuous" by making enemies in lieu of allies. That in itself is one thing, but the fact remains we are all playing a videogame. Thus at the end of the day one can hardly achieve these "qualities" in such a medium. And even if they could, certainly they would not be real. For only a fool would pursue merits of this nature in such a manner and take them seriously.
We Ronin have have been on both sides of this scenario and also do like to consider ourselves and those we share time with to be rather gallant all the same. So the irony is not lost on us and it's a fascinating duality of pseudo mettle.
Although, we do play the part well seeing as you just overestimated Ronin political prowess not one, not two, not three, not four, but five or six times over. Or maybe it was underestimated, wouldn't that be something?
On the bright side Gope, Ronin abide by law #2 of power:
Never put too much trust in friends, learn how to use enemies. Friends often times become complacent and difficult to work with while enemies have something to prove and are generally willing to do more to earn your trust. The problem with friends is they become resentful with envy entitlement and ingratitude. This confuses the boundaries and distances that working requires. If both partners in the arrangement understand the dangers involved, a friend often can be employed to great effect. You must never let your guard down in such a venture, always be on the lookout for any signs of emotional disturbance. Nothing is stable in the realm of power, and even the closest of friends can be transformed into the worst of enemies.
To stay on topic
Lets see a new top 12 list