As an important side note, the zombies can just move right through the space containing a guardian of the faith. It's not capable of blocking or trapping anyone.
Regarding xp, while it's probably not a good idea to punish clever play it may be reasonable in cases to give lower xp values if the DM has mistakenly made the fight way easier then he thought.
Regarding xp, while it's probably not a good idea to punish clever play it may be reasonable in cases to give lower xp values if the DM has mistakenly made the fight way easier then he thought.