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That is a little unfair to say the Traitors just did what their superiors told them to do.

Large chunks of the Traitor legions had to be eradicated because they remained loyal to the Emperor. Most of these loyalists were Marines who had been recruited prior to their Primarch being found.

They certainly weren't being brainless automatons who never questioned orders.

They'd have to be at least a relatively sharp tool in the Imperial shed, given the vast array of tactics they have to know and retain, and the complex wargear and power armour they have to come to terms with using. It would be far more intellectually demanding than your average Imperial Guardsman's work (possibly barring Stormtroopers), even with IG being the top of the PDF heap.

However, intelligence will vary between marines. I believe that in the 5th ed SM book, it said that some battle-brothers were "deemed unsuitable" for advancing to Tactical Marine status, and remained a Devastator or Assault Marine. Intelligence levels may play a part in this.

 Zed wrote:
They'd have to be at least a relatively sharp tool in the Imperial shed, given the vast array of tactics they have to know and retain, and the complex wargear and power armour they have to come to terms with using. It would be far more intellectually demanding than your average Imperial Guardsman's work (possibly barring Stormtroopers), even with IG being the top of the PDF heap.

However, intelligence will vary between marines. I believe that in the 5th ed SM book, it said that some battle-brothers were "deemed unsuitable" for advancing to Tactical Marine status, and remained a Devastator or Assault Marine. Intelligence levels may play a part in this.

First off imho i believe rank and file space marines are more intelligent than a regular human.

About marines being kept in the assault/devastator squads I wouldnt say they were not smart enough to be promoted as a tactical marine, I would think aptitude would also apply. Kind of like how Telion prefers to be in the scout company. He is just that good and prefers being part of he scouts instead of the other squads. I dont think its too much of a stretch that individual marines have a choice in picking their specialty barring dire situations.

djz05 wrote:

 Zed wrote:
However, intelligence will vary between marines. I believe that in the 5th ed SM book, it said that some battle-brothers were "deemed unsuitable" for advancing to Tactical Marine status, and remained a Devastator or Assault Marine. Intelligence levels may play a part in this.

About marines being kept in the assault/devastator squads I wouldnt say they were not smart enough to be promoted as a tactical marine, I would think aptitude would also apply.

Some may be so good that they're allowed to stay like Telion, but others could well be unsuitable for advancement. Maybe they're not flexible enough in their thinking despite otherwise being bright. There's a lot of psych conditioning and learning crammed into their heads while they're being transformed. Just as there can be physical side effects to the process one might see mental side effects - not enough to necessitate termination but maybe enough to forever lock the marine into an easy enough role where he doesn't need to think fast.