I think the Garrus ones are perhaps best for being able to shape the character, since he can interpret what you've said in a way that's different to how you wanted him to take it.
For example, I explained to him in the first game that it was important to stop at nothing to stop Saren, but in the second he uses that and becomes one cold biatch.
Well I was playing as a paragon, so most of my moral choices were dictated as such. But the only one that really wasn't was Ashley or Kaiden. I'd grown fairly attached to both of them, but chose the kill Ashley on the grounds of her being a complete up-herself *****. That sure showed her a lesson in passively pissing me off (Feelsgoodman)
Samara/Morinth - This is interesting in two ways to me. First, as a paragon, would you be comfortable with a warrior priest with the strictest of dogmas trying to kill someone (albeit a serial killer) for a birth defect? Second, as a renegade, Samara actually mentions that she would kill you without a doubt if she were to meet Shepard after the Reapers based on her actions. Would you let a killer live to save your own self, given (what seems to be) your only chance?
Samara wasn't trying to kill Morinth for a birth defect, but rather because Morinth used that birth defect to go on a murderous killing spree throughout the galaxy. Keep in mind that both of her other daughters suffer from the same defect, and she's not trying to put them down.
As for the renegade thing, that can't have come as much of a surprise. When you're throwing dudes out of windows because it's more convenient than talking to them, you can't expect the Lawful Good types to throw you a high five.
I tie for me between the Geth and Genophage, though I voted genophage because I spent a little more time on that one.
The only problem with ME's moral choices is the binary Paragon/Renegade point system. It wouldn't bug me so much if the ME2 didn't require you to have large amounts of one or the other to keep everybody loyal.
For me it was the Genophage. I knew I didn't want to destroy the research but I wasn't sure if Mordin should work on it. I thought about for a bit but ultimately decided on keeping the research but not using it.
Personally, I took the Kaidan/Ashley choice based on who I felt was more ready to die. Ash was an ultra-patriotic front-line soldier who wanted a chance to redeem her family name. Kaidan, as well as being the superior officer, had no reason to sacrifice himself beyond simple loyalty to the team. Guess who I chose.
Looking back, I never considered that Ash had a family (although no dependents) and Kaidan didn't. I don't think it would have impacted my choice though.
The fate of the Geth heretics, in my opinion, was the hardest choice to make.
I rewrote the Geth, although I originally thought it would be the renegade choice (my first game I decided to just roleplay what I thought was the best choice and not worry about paragon/renegade scores). The Geth are, as legion put it, 'purely software'. To judge them by the moral standards of human beings seemed flawed.
As Legion also said you were only altering their most basic processes, the equivalent of a human subconsciousness. They would know what they did, they would see the logic of it, they would merely come to understand on their own that it was the wrong choice.
Put it this way, did anyone have a massive moral problem with what they did to Cillian Murphy's character in Inception?
Samara/Morinth was the easiest. While the fate of her sisters didn't seem very nice, Morinth was eating people's nervous systems for pleasure.
By contrast, Samara's story was genuinely touching. (In case it wasn't obvious because I missed it on a first playthrough: Samara has 3 daughters. There are 3 known Ardat Yakshi. Do the maths).
None of those. The hardest conundrum I faced was an obscure side mission in ME1 I stumbled across completely by accident.
Found a freighter, with all of the inhabitant's having been killed save for one person on life-support. They're unconscious, brain dead, and floating through space. The choice is this: turn the machine off, hence killing the man, or leave it on, hence leaving him floating through space for all eternity in a mostly dead state with no chance of recovery.
I just sat and stared at the screen for a couple of minutes, jaw gaping, unable to choose. I turned him off in the end, but... Dunno, that one got to me a bit.
No, no reason at all. But he's done nothing to you, there's nothing saying you have to kill him, and you actually have to take an action in order to end his life. You directly kill an innocent man, knowing that he has never been nor will ever be any kind of threat to you.
Euthanasia is a good thing. The threat he does or does not pose to me is immaterial. If he's unsaveable, it makes no sense to artificially prolong his brain-dead body.
Saving them seemed the most logical thing to do. Legion said the heretics branched off from them and became considerably different. This means it can happen, which means it can happen again. Destroying them all wouldn't really change anything, I think, just delay the learning process. Legion also said (i'm fairly certain) that by sparing the heretics, they could be analyzed, the "real" Geth can figure out what went wrong and possibly prevent future splitting. By destroying the heretic geth, you're only fixing a temporary problem, it seems.
Yes, yes, they were reprogrammed, but what do you think Sovreign did to them? Is it really impossible that they were indoctrinated (reprogrammed) as well? Is it wrong to skullfuck someone's beliefs (which are for suckers anyway, I'd say) if they believe in killing all non-machine life and worshipping the goddamn reapers, harvesters of sentient life, greatest genocide thinkable, for untold eons?
With Kaiden and Ashley, Ashley was stationed at the nuke and said she could make sure it went off. All I needed to hear, besides her poetry bored me.
The council thing: 1. Saving them would have meant a chance for a Reaper to retaliate/get away. That cannot stand.
2. They spent the whole game ignoring me anyway. Good riddance.
For the Rachni, I didn't let the past dictate the future. All races are involved in wars, I didn't see anyone lobbying for Krogan extinction in spite of their constant "we'll kill everyone when we beat the Genophage" attitude. (or was I the only one who got that impression?) I let the new queen sing her songs in peace, her agent tells me she's doing just that. Still, even if she lies, it's nothing compared to the Reaper threat.
I wasn't aware Morinth could be saved, she's kind of a monster with no redeeming qualities in my eyes.
Garrus's bloodlust seemed well justified both times, those bastards shouldn't get to walk away from their crimes.
The Collector base had to go, even if the supposed most advanced society in the galaxy (the Protheans, to my understanding) didn't have some kind of failsafe for invaders, The Illusive Man can't be trusted with it. [sub]I was waiting for him to flip a switch to detonate a bomb in my head the moment I defied him. It did not happen, perplexingly.[/sub]
EDIT:
I recently began another playthrough of ME 2, loading up my good guy data from the first game only this time playing as a ruthless, paralell universe version of that Shepard. I go around threatening people, shooting first, and pretending to be out of medigel when the wounded ask for aid. What troubles me is Tali. I was nice to her (everyone, really) in the first game and in the second as my Paragon Shepard, but even being volcanic-scarface bizarro Shepard, I'm still compelled to act kindly and level-headed around her.
It's rather disturbing, I laughed at the little girl reverse-falling out of the window in that Dead Island trailer, but Tali reminds me of a child in need of help (remember the reasuring cuddle Shepard gives when she sees her dead father? Think it was the paragon trigger response.) and something in my head clicks to a sort of parental mindset, "Protect girl, set good example." Just not having her in my party helps, but that this happens at all is somewhat astounding. Bioware is truly amazing.
Well, considering the impending galactic war doing things like brainwashing the geth, allowing the rachni to live, and keeping the base alive are all intelligent moves.
well the geth and the krogan virus stopped me 4 a bit, but notso much 4 the krogan anymore as i save the research but then do nothing with it, so that-a-way lives used in testing not pointless and if krogans are near extinct i can give it out, but until then they're population stays in check not being a blight on the galaxy.
although honestly the galaxy would need their large numbers to fight the reapers, and this could be said about the rachni aswell.
The fate of the Heretic Geth was by far the most morally difficult choice.
Saving the collector base was the runner-up, but I had much less trouble making that decision because I just don't trust the Illusive Man with that kind of galactic advantage.
Oddly enough I never got the feeling the Illusive Man was untrustworthy. I mean aside from all the characters saying so, I think he was pretty straight forward. He doesn't want to go out of his way to infringe on other species, so much as he wants to better Humanity in the galaxy. That pretty much implies that eggs will be broken for his omelet, so I don't get it. He lays it all on front street.
I chose Morinth over Samara. its the only decision that I regret somewhat. Morinth is the more interesting character though so no worries. A close 2nd is letting garrus kill the dude.I let garrus kill the dude the 2nd time around...stopped him the 1st time.
Edit for clarification- Samara just swore her life and code over to me. This was our loyalty mission and I had told her i'd be on her side. Her daughter was the more interesting character ( looking fowards to seeing whaat happens in ME3 with morinth)( also there was the whole killing her just because of what she was being morally wrong*...so i went against my better judgement and took her along. Thats the only time i went against my gut.
Garrus...well the 2nd time around the target was wrecked with guilt, so I put him out of his misery
I had the most problems with the Rachni quest, do you destroy the last of what was a dire threat to the galaxy because of it races actions and to prevent future problems, or take its word on it peaceful intentions and let it go.
Are you fricking kidding me? The only real choice I faced was the Collector base. I'm a hardcore paragon, foregoing any renegade action, no matter how easy it would make things, but this was a real problem for me. Yeah, this monstrosity was made to create Reapers, but can we use its tech? Do I really trust giving it over to the Illusive Man? Kaiden/Ashley was not a moral choice, Rachni was easy, Geth was easy, you need more allies! This was troubling to me, more than any other decision by far.
Opposite for me. Renegade for everything...aside from the Geth mission. I wiped their minds. SUCK THAT, GETH! (Actually, it was mostly because I wanted to count on the Geth's FULL support in Mass Effect 3)
The choice that took the longest for me was at the beginning of MS2 when you get hired as a mercenary to take down Garrus 'The Archangel'. Did you break the kids gun, or let him go face down Garrus? I let the kid go...and was treated to a scene of him getting shot in the head almost immediately.
Well, considering the impending galactic war doing things like brainwashing the geth, allowing the rachni to live, and keeping the base alive are all intelligent moves.
As far as handing that abominable base over to the illusive man I believe my shepard said it best. " I wont allow fear to change who I am!" We will defeat the Geth without sacrificing the Soul of the human race!"
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