I think blending Halo 2 and Halo 3 Brutes would be the best course of action: Halo 2: -primal berserking -sudden burst of speed -last Brute berserks -last Brute mourning his buddies when left alone Halo 3/ODST: -evasive maneuvers -evasive berserking patterns (they weave) -jumping attack -large numbers -brutal animations (most of which were deleted from or unused in Halo 3) -showed them doing non-combat stuff (patrolling, eating, pissing, planting a bomb on an Engineer) -using equipment (improved in ODST) -in rare instances, Brutes can berserk with their weapons drawn -noticing their dead comrades (when they haven't noticed you and a recently killed body flies past them or goes through them) -Brute pimps. Enough said Halo 3 Brutes were much more sophisticated. They just lacked the charisma of Halo 2 Brutes. Also, 1) It was not a good thing for Tough Luck to have the side effect of making every Brute berserk when they lost their power armor. It made them way too easy to kill. 2) Their berserking was pathetic since they were so slow. What's the point of increasing animation speed but leaving the base speed unchanged? It just makes them unrealistic. 3) only 1 known Brute in Halo 3 berserks over the death of his comrades: the first one on Sierra 117. It's pretty coincidental that Sierra 117 bears the marks of Halo 2 (your weapon appearing in cutscenes, high learning curve) and nearly every mission afterward (sans The Ark and The Covenant) feels watered down. But at least they're a different experience. That's what matters IMO. I wouldn't want Halo 3 to be merely an extension of Halo 2 (then again, I wouldn't miss the first 3 levels). [Edited on 10.23.2012 9:13 PM PDT]

Everything Sliding Ghost said, plus the Sword wielding Chieftan seen in Et Tu Brute?. It would have added to the hatred from the Elites as well as showing the disrespect of the Brutes towards the Elites.

H2 Brutes were much better in terms of the challenge.

I liked the challenge of the H2 Brutes, but I also really liked the AI for them in H3. The way they worked together as a pack was really cool and improved for Halo 3 I thought. But they were definitely more difficult in 2.

Fighting brutes on Halo 2 legendary was, well... [i]brutal[/i].

The brutes felt pretty easy to deal with even on Legendary, Halo 2 and Halo 3. However, they were more fun to fight in Halo 2 but the dodging was cool in Halo 3. Just my 2 cents.

agree with nest, the thrill of facing brutes in Halo 2 was like no other compared to Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST or Halo Reach, especially when they berserk. once you kill it's budy causing the other to get down on all 4's, that was the real definition of survival i didn't mind brutes wearing armour in Halo 3 and afterwards but shaving off all their fur? just doesn't go with their name. weren't as intimating either when they berserk. however, the fact they can melee with plasma cannons was awesome

If by "best", you mean "bullet sponge", then yes, you're right.

That's the thing, swvj, there was all this "pack" talk by Bungie for H-3, but I just can't see it. Yeah, there are a lot more of them in a group, but, the last guy losing it and completely going primal...That seems more like pack mentality to me. One of those things Bungie trumpeted, but didn't quite deliver on. Just like the "run" ability for Chief, or the "last Grunt standing" aspect of a straggler finding more of his fellows and bringing them to you.

[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] nesteggfailure That's the thing, swvj, there was all this "pack" talk by Bungie for H-3, but I just can't see it. Yeah, there are a lot more of them in a group, but, the last guy losing it and completely going primal...That seems more like pack mentality to me. One of those things Bungie trumpeted, but didn't quite deliver on. Just like the "run" ability for Chief, or the "last Grunt standing" aspect of a straggler finding more of his fellows and bringing them to you.[/quote]Halo 3 pack mentality was simply Brutes swarming your position.

I don't really agree at all. The only species I preferred in Halo 2 to Halo 3 would be jackals. Even then, I would prefer some medium. Also, [quote][b]Posted by:[/b] gorocurt If by "best", you mean "bullet sponge", then yes, you're right.[/quote] [Edited on 10.27.2012 2:45 PM PDT]

[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] nesteggfailure I don't know what happened between games, but, Brutes in H-3 were suddenly pushovers with bad Elite armor impersonations...The H-2 Brutes were a nightmare, and their berserking was something you had to be ready for, or die. I loved the primate charging on their fists rage mode. It made for altered gameplay that put on a whole new list of considerations...Why was this abandoned, and who misses this mode ?[/quote] I do but u got to admit that it was rather predictable

[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] DethBySword [quote][b]Posted by:[/b] nesteggfailure I don't know what happened between games, but, Brutes in H-3 were suddenly pushovers with bad Elite armor impersonations...The H-2 Brutes were a nightmare, and their berserking was something you had to be ready for, or die. I loved the primate charging on their fists rage mode. It made for altered gameplay that put on a whole new list of considerations...Why was this abandoned, and who misses this mode ?[/quote] I do but u got to admit that it was rather predictable[/quote] Yeah, you got me there. But things still went awry. (For me anyway) I'm just still left with the feeling of post-H-2 Brutes as being Elite-interchangeable larger enemies that don't react/act any differently from any other enemy. I don't feel they swarm/configure in any way that differs from the standard format. At least the horrible charges were unpredictable/alarming.