As an aside independent on the points raised, is this sort of design ("reinforcing your playstyle") really something you want, even if it worked as intended? I keep remembering the mission where you found the spy in the Habitat – I wanted to blow his brains out, but helping him escape carried virtually no penalties, while giving you lots more skill XP in computers and electronics because there was some dumb computer terminal in the way. Therefore, there exists no playthrough in which I'd ever NOT help the spy unless I was heavily LARPing, since killing him is clearly the inferior option by a wide margin. Is this really something you want the player to think about? It was like that with speech skills too – I wanted to fight an enemy, but knew I was falling behind on my speech XP, so I talked it out instead. I don't think I've ever had to make such considerations in AoD (and if yes, then they must've been very minor as I don't recall any significant instance of it). I cannot say such considerations were fun to make – they just made me feel annoyed over being cucked out of a combat encounter, if anything – yet from what you're saying, it sounds as if you think that this is the intended way it should work.