Imaro
Legend
You really expect the person on the other side to accept the one on one duel? Your mark enables you to challenge them effectively to one on one combat so they have a problem attacking anyone else, and Valiant Strike gives you bonusses when they prefer to fight you many on one and have you dogpiled.
I guess it would depend on the situation and who he is challenging... pride and hubris has been the downfall of many an evil villain in fiction... As to the paladin mark in 4e, IME it tends to "guarantee" very little since it's a pretty weak mark...
But if you don't like the way Valiant Strike encourages you to behave don't take it. If your personal picture of a Paladin differs there are about a dozen other at will powers you could take in its place, all of which in different ways reflect how Paladins behave.
It's not about whether I "like" it or not, that's not what was being discussed... it was about abilities that give incentive to role play because they reward you for acting in archetype. I was making the assertion that most editions of D&D have class abilities that give an incentive for certain behaviors...