[thejeff]

Yeah, I'm not sure what the big deal is. They're great as troops if you've got a good bless, mostly due to being sacred and to having good armor and a good weapon.

As thugs though, you'd replace the weapons and armor so you're getting a fairly weak chassis with only the sacred to really recommend it. If you could do it early game, it might be good, but GoR is late enough you'll have other options.