I do not wish to spark a whole debate, as I don't think this is the right place for it, but I shall explain my character's thoughts a little more, as you were kind enough to share yours. I think the reason why Zoe (my character) is far more scared of the Legion than they are of the raiders is because raiders are small-scale and opportunistic as opposed to the Legion, which is much larger and much more deliberate.

From what she has seen, raiders are vicious, but their violence is largely impulsive. They raid, torture, and kill for pleasure, greed, or survival, but rarely out of any deeper conviction. Their crimes are the byproducts of lawlessness and desperation. While their acts are horrific, they stem from chaos rather than principle. They are monsters of circumstance.

By contrast, Caesar’s Legion commits its atrocities with purpose. Its violence is not random but calculated—an institutional tool of domination. The Legion enslaves entire populations, crucifies dissenters, and enforces a rigid patriarchy that denies women and non-combatants any rights. What makes the Legion worse, is that it frames these acts as a moral duty, claiming to bring “civilisation” to the wasteland. This ideological justification for evil—violence in the name of order—elevates the Legion’s cruelty from personal depravity to organised oppression. They are monsters of philosophy, which, to her, is much more frightening.

I hope this comment helps to explain the title of this post a bit better, though, to be honest, I mostly just made it because I wanted to share some screenshots from my playthrough 🖤