Can Lawful good ever be ruthless?

[ThirdWizard]

Well that's just silly.

"Squire! Get those innocents to safety, and if anyone try to stop you, deal with them with force! Well. Except the druid. Should the druid try to stop you, well, you know, he can kill the innocents. 'Cause, well, you know. He's a PC. And, well, if the -monk- tries to stop you... Oh hell, just kill the innocents."

I agree.

You basically told the squire to kill anyone who tries to kill some people who can't defend themselves. If the other PCs try to sacrifice the prisoners for their own hides, would your own character not take action against them? You weren't being ruthless, you were acting normally in the D&D world. People menace non-combatants who you are trying to protect: you attack them. If it were a ship full of orc pirates, they probably wouldn't have survived past "hello" anyway!