How Smart Are the Makyrs?
Not the Khan, but the rest of ‘em. We know that they can’t (usually) defy the Khan’s will, but do they have wills of their own that they just can’t act on? Thoughts of their own? I say yes, and not just Samur.
Yeah, we’ve got our boy Samur Makyr, the Seraphim. He jammed Doomguy in the Divinity Machine without orders to do so, and might also be Sam Hayden playing the long game, but that’s a discussion for another post.
The rest of them also display bits of individuality. Makyr Angels have the duty of representing Makyrs on conquered-sorry, liberated worlds (yeah don’t think I didn’t fucking see that little euphemism re: Sentinel expansion either). Unless the Khan is omniscient and able to act directly through them, Makyr Angels would need some ability to think and possibly act on their own in order to respond to whatever goes down on the planet where they’re staying. This handsome lad:
greets the Slayer when he rolls up to murder Deag Grav. If he were a mere extension of the Khan, he wouldn’t be playing nice. Khan Makyr only says nice things to the Slayer when she’s trying to bribe him, and she’s very transparent about whatever bribe she’s setting up. This guy just says hi and lets the Slayer go on his way.
Later on, when the Slayer interrupts the ritual by stabbing the Icon’s floating heart, the Makyrs disperse individually. Obviously they’re united in their desire to get the hell out of dodge, but they don’t act as one. This implies that Angels and even Drones have some degree of individual awareness and capacity to act on their own, even if it’s just on the level of something like an Imp.
TL;DR: They can think. Probably.