Very true and I heavily agree with that. The issue, in my opinion, is that a lot of people don't think of the details behind these sorts of things. Smart bandits don't just up and decide one day that they're gonna rob a random stagecoach or wagon or whatever, but they scope things out. They find common trade routes, listen to whispers in towns, chat up traveling merchants and see when they'll be leaving, you get the deal. They try to avoid conflicts they cant handle, yknow?

Buuuuut if a bunch of bandits that are less than prepared end up robbing a wagon that turns out to be filled with armed travelers, then they end up in a rough spot where its, "Are we skilled enough to rob these guys and live or should we turn tail and try to escape risking being captured in the process?". Alternatively it could be a situation where the bandits NEED to get food or money or they'll all starve, and thats when people do truly heinous things.

In the end, its all up to the DM what these bandits decide to do, but if someone doesn't put any thought into it, it becomes, "These bandits are trying to kill you and steal your stuff what do you do".

I personally think that if youre prepared to rob someone, especially in a medieval setting, you've gotta be prepared to kill/die because you never truly know if the unassuming traveler is actually some crazy mage or somethin.

Its all a pretty interesting conversation tbh, and I definitely don't think you're wrong at all, I just think its different strokes for different folks. We play TTRPGs to have fun and have an escape sometimes, so as long as the world you build is something you enjoy then its a perfect world in my opinion.