WB is admirable and very likable, but I don't really disagree with the idea that he was motivated by favoritism for Ace. Many fodder died, but when Ace died the crew is all crying and stuff.
This is fair.
WB did not order anyone but his charisma, self sacrificing nature and presence would have definitely caused a lot of people to swallow their own self- preservation instinct and just die fighting when they could have fled.
This also had horrible long term consequences because WB's death lead to:
- Teach getting Gura
- Fewer WB crew members left to protect his former territories leading to annexation and bloodbaths
- Sengoku resigns and the more extreme Akainu takes his place
Yeah I've always wondered, what if the WG decides to execute a random WB pirate, would WB have come?
Also fair. I like to think he would have, but in all the years WB ruled as Yonko, at least some of his crewmates would have been captured or killed by Marines.
Then again it's hard to say because Ace was not a normal WB pirate, he was Roger's son and his execution was publicized by the WG.
They pulled out Sengoku, Garp and the C3 just to ensure his execution would be uninterrupted and televised.
So given WB's reputation and the WG's stance towards Yonko, it's possible WB would have done the same as Ace for other WB members especially in his prime or at least sent Marco/Jozu/Vista etc as long as the prisoner was alive.
And the WG would probably let the prisoner go because they don't want war.