If it would help your MC boost his cred with his Skeptic supporter base (and finally marginalize and/or wipe out the Xthonic priesthood/followers), might MC consider discarding his “freedom of religion for everybody” vision to instead push for a Skepticism-dominated new world order?
Or is the “freedom of religion” tenet something that your MC considers a vital principle that should never be abandoned? (Along with pragmatically realizing that promoting freedom of religion will allow MC to have better relations with Xthonic-dominated Erezza)
Good luck with that goal!
However, perhaps a certain biblical quote will end up defining a tragedy/inevitability of your main MC’s journey:
“I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also was a chasing at the wind. For in much wisdom, is much grief, and he that increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow.” - The Bible, Ecclesiastes 1:17
Oh, that’s right! Now I remember that it was you who wanted to pursue a “Mao-esque vision”!
How much of historical Mao’s footsteps do you imagine your XoR Mao will be able to recreate?
(And which footsteps will be ignored?)
Do your MCs treat Bleys as a tool to be used and eventually discarded (after outliving said usefulness), or do your MCs instead sympathetically see Bleys as allies whose loyalty can/should be won over? (despite the rocky circumstances of MC’s recruitment of Bleys)
My current guess is the cynical interpretation (“Bleys is just a tool”), given how you similarly plan to treat the Leaguers as your pawns; plus, genuinely befriending Bleys would reduce the Ruthlessness score (thus hindering the Ch 3 75% ruthlessness army bonus).
Well, then here’s to hoping that Havie one day turns Gan into a proper, full-fledged RO during G3-G5! (thus allowing your helot MC to finally act upon (or fully reject) his previously unresolved childhood crush)
There were plenty of different rationales that an MC could pick for sparing the De Merres- I’d like to find out if you picked either “we should open ourselves to the idea of recruiting aristos to our cause” (which would fit your plan to coax the Leaguers into an alliance) or “we’ll spare you in order to later sentence you in a proper trial.” (which is consistent with your helot MC’s “true feelings” disdain towards the aristos as an overall class).
Because you welcomed them as your guests to begin with (and then kept your word), or because you released them (after initially taking them hostage for ransom)?
You’re referring to the “Zvad’s discreet assassination” subplot, correct?
I finally got around to seeing that for myself, and oh boy, are the consequences messy! 
Consequence 1- Elery’s smart enough to immediately figure out the true cause of Breden’s “accidental death”, and thus becomes permanently(?) distrustful towards both Zvad and the MC (but strangely, still decided to stick around as MC’s lieutenant).
Consequence 2- Breden’s absence from the Brecklanders mission means that 1 CHA MC was unable to peacefully ask the Brecklanders for their assistance (thus boiling the final decision to either abort the mission, or go ruthless/burn bridges with the Brecklanders).
If you’re interested/looking for other sources of inspiration, here are the names of my Game 1 Skeptic characters.
1- Atriox Oakfell (named after Atriox, leader of the atheistic “Banished” mercenary faction from the Halo games)
2- “Corvus Ataturk”: Ruthless/Skeptical/Homelander 2COM/1INT Helot
(named after Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of modern/secular Turkey)
Will your character even remain consistently Skeptical/atheistic for the future games to come, or might he consider joining the religions of the Seracca (Nagyeh), Whends (Forgotten Gods), or Halassur (Mother Ummay, Consort Kormuz, and Evren the Firstborn)?
Wisard represents Shayardene nationalism (which is the polar opposite of your character’s overall Cosmo leanings); could you go into more detail about why your character chose to call himself a Wisard?
Once you get to Game 2, is Cerlota’s Xaos-storm nuke going to be a deal-breaker for your Compassionate MC, or is your MC instead confident that Cerlota can (and will) keep her promise about minimizing civilian casualties?
If you’re hoping to ally with Horion’s nephew/niece, Teren (and by extension, the Leaguers), then your plan should take into account the following quote from Havie "Teren is highly unlikely to buy “I imprisoned them to protect them.”
Have you considered pursuing the “Split Up and Melt into Helot Camps” option?
I think the following factors (per my current understanding of your playthrough) may be relevant here:
1- You seem to share Breden and de Firiac’s viewpoint that it’s too early to openly fight the Hegemony (thus inclined towards a non-confrontational option),
2- You have a mid-high amounts of literate rebels in your band,
3- You kept all (or most) of the “rescued from Chapter 1’s Harrowing” helot children alive throughout Ch 2’s winter,
4- And you have a vested interest in keeping high-charisma Breden alive (and loyal to you)