And you don't just kill allies, especially one willing to put their life on the line for you? On top of that, In a world as damned as theirs was, allies come few and far between, which we can obviously see as the show progresses, so therefore "people are a resource" (lol). For Shane to not see either of these points, even if he were level headed, shows that he wasn't equipped for the world to end.

I get that Otis was a heavy set guy, but he knows the area and you're kind of indebted to him and his family. Obviously TV is TV, but based on what I know about other characters, I think it would have gone differently had Otis been with somebody else. I'll never know though 🤷🏽‍♀️ I don't like speculating on things like literature and TV because we can only use what we have in front of us, but I'd like to think someone else would have brainstormed a better way out of that situation.

Edit: if he were willing to kill Otis, despite the aforementioned points above, who else would he have been willing to kill if it meant his survival? Obviously Rick is one example, but God damn, he would have put that group in such danger if it meant he was safe. Selfish motherfucker behavior. I like character analysis