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I read this - Renegades - wherein the Emperor falls to Chaos, and it's Horus and friends who end up having to fight on the side of right. How plausible is the premise?

Slightly possible. Considering the Emperor stole a portion of his power from the Chaos Gods at Molech.

An inversion is too simplistic.

There's some traitors that turned due to envy of the Emperor's power, and others due to their inherent corruption. Primarchs such as Lorgar and Angron would likely be loyal to a Chaos Emperor, and ones such as Mortarion and Horus would likely still rebel, as their original motives were more due to chafing under his power.

In the same way, certain loyalists c ould possibly delude themselves into follwing a corrupted Emperor out of pesonal loyalty, while others, loyal to his original ideals more than the man, would stil rebel. El'Jonson, Russ and Dorn were fanatics towards the Emperor, and as a result could possibly delude themselves into corruption, whereas Guilliman, Vulkan and Sanguinarius would almost certainly fight against him.

Sanguinius grew fething wings. How would he *not* side with a Mutant-Emperor?

Hierophant wrote:
An inversion is too simplistic.

There's some traitors that turned due to envy of the Emperor's power, and others due to their inherent corruption. Primarchs such as Lorgar and Angron would likely be loyal to a Chaos Emperor, and ones such as Mortarion and Horus would likely still rebel, as their original motives were more due to chafing under his power.

In the same way, certain loyalists c ould possibly delude themselves into follwing a corrupted Emperor out of pesonal loyalty, while others, loyal to his original ideals more than the man, would stil rebel. El'Jonson, Russ and Dorn were fanatics towards the Emperor, and as a result could possibly delude themselves into corruption, whereas Guilliman, Vulkan and Sanguinarius would almost certainly fight against him.

Loyalists: El'Jonson, Fulgrim, Lorgar, Angron, Dorn, Manus, Kurze, and Vulkan

Traitors: Horus, Magnus, Mortarion, Khan, Alpharius, Russ, Guilliman, Corax, Perturabo, and Sanguinius

I don't think you'd have an equal 9 per side as before, but for the purposes of balance, you'd have to I guess. I disagree with that breakdown though. My selection would be;

Traitor
El'Jonson was loyal to the man above all else. His pride and naivety could be exploited.
Fulgrim would be blinded by power and opportunity as before.
Lorgar would see his beliefs as vindicated.
Angron would likewise. He just wants to kill.
Dorn would be massively conflicted, but would be loyal to the staus quo, and institutions, more than anything. Would delude himself rather than admit he was on the wrong side.
Magnus was seduced by the warp once. He would be again. Hubris is his flaw.
Russ is super loyal to the Emperor as a man, isn't very bright, and already dabbles in sorcery via rune priests, and mutation via the Canis Helix. He could be tricked easily I think.
Perturabo is a self-pitying fool. He'd always go with whoever offered him redemption for his crimes, no matter how underserved.
Alpharius would be the last one, purely for balance, and the same reason they're Traitor in the main timeline.

Loyal
Horus' ambition and pride would make him rebel at a chance of leading humanity, no matter what.
Mortarion saw the Emperor as a tyrant. He would feel vindicated.
Khan was pragamatic and level headed.
Guilliman was like Dorn, but less of a fanatic, and more practical. He'd rebel for the spirit of the institutions, not the letter.
Corax would fight a tyrant.
Sanguinius was uncorruptible.
Kurze went against the Emperor due to his percieved hypocrisy. Having that hypocrisy come to light would vindicate his decision to betray him, not cause renewed loyalty.
Vulkan always cared more about people than anything else. He'd side against a tyrant Emperor for that reason.
Manus was a stubborn pragmatist, free of dogma. He'd side with the good guys over historical ties.

Hierophant wrote:
I don't think you'd have an equal 9 per side as before, but for the purposes of balance, you'd have to I guess. I disagree with that breakdown though. My selection would be;

I didn't write the fanfic, someone else did

Magnus was seduced by the warp once. He would be again. Hubris is his flaw.

In-story the Emperor's fall shocked the hubris out of him. He still cares for his legion, but not to the point that he'd sell his or their souls anymore. He personally gave the order to reorganize the Thousand Sons and to dismiss the tutelaries.

Russ is super loyal to the Emperor as a man, isn't very bright, and already dabbles in sorcery via rune priests, and mutation via the Canis Helix. He could be tricked easily I think.

He joined Horus because he no longer sees the Emperor as mentally-fit to lead.

Perturabo is a self-pitying fool. He'd always go with whoever offered him redemption for his crimes, no matter how underserved.

He joined Horus due to author fiat.

Alpharius would be the last one, purely for balance, and the same reason they're Traitor in the main timeline.

The Cabal showed him the same thing in canon, but the Emperor's fall proved the Acuity wrong, so they sided with Horus.

Guilliman was like Dorn, but less of a fanatic, and more practical. He'd rebel for the spirit of the institutions, not the letter.

To quote the fic "...the Astartes...the Primarchs...are more than killers..."

Kurze went against the Emperor due to his percieved hypocrisy. Having that hypocrisy come to light would vindicate his decision to betray him, not cause renewed loyalty.

Thing is, Chaos Emps gave him leave to dispense justice as he saw fit. Kurze doesn't like demons, but he likes the Emperor seeing 'the need for justice'.

Vulkan always cared more about people than anything else. He'd side against a tyrant Emperor for that reason.

Not when Emps gave him a demon weapon without telling him first. He hasn't been possessed so far, but he's gone nuts. He killed Khan when Khan refused to side with the Emperor. Khan killed him too, but Perpetual...

Manus was a stubborn pragmatist, free of dogma. He'd side with the good guys over historical ties.

No idea why he's with Emps, AFAIK in-story he was put in charge of subjugating Mars (which descended into civil war between those who support the Emperor, Horus, and those who wish to return to the worship of the 'Dragon of Mars').