what bums me out the most about veilguard's sanitizing of the crows is that... they didn't have to do that. the whole apocalypse situation was the perfect opportunity to "force" players to align with a faction that's objectively morally bankrupt.
it's not like they were completely unwilling to put the player in a position where they have to turn to bad people for help. the threads are a crime syndicate that, among other things, runs protection rackets. they are not good by any sensible measure. but the venatori are a common enemy, and the shadow dragons need help. there might be an alternative, but it might be one you don't feel any better about. or if you save treviso over minrathous, they are the only choice. they want their city back too, so they will help. it might mean you're empowering them to run things their way later on though, when the venatori are gone. that's a risk you will have to take.
if we can have that, why not something similar with the crows? maybe they couldn't or didn't want to outright say that crows buy slaves and snatch orphans off the streets to brutally train until only the very few that can withstand literal torture are left to become contract killers for the rest of their lives. but there were ways to peel back the curtain a little, and still convince the player they are better than the alternative:
- npc and/or crow rook dialogue stating they joined because it was that or die on the streets
- codex entries or small notes about the latest batch of fledglings that didn't make it through training, and someone has to make time to burn them with the rest of the dead
- banter with lucanis on what his and illario's training actually involved, with another companion reacting in horror and lucanis shrugging it off, because it's normal for him. yes they beat them and starved them, how else could they learn to do what they do? how else could he have survived a year of torture in captivity? it made him strong. it's what they do.
they could have shown enough to make it clear not many people choose crow life, and that they keep their numbers up by bringing in those who have nowhere else to go and conditioning them into undying loyalty. but what are you going to do, let the city and the country burn under antaam rule and feed the gods' power? who do you think will suffer the most from that?
the crows are brutal. they are constantly at each other's throats (this part they acknowledge, but mainly through the mayor's accusations that we're not really supposed to agree with), they control antivan politics (they acknowledge this themselves, proudly) and make a lot of their living off of meddling in everyone else's too. it's an organization that most members join because they have little to no other choice, and the only way out of it is death or a lifetime looking over your shoulder. but if you want to save the world, and lose as few people as possible in the process, you're going to have to grit your teeth and get them on your side.
we could have kept everything else as is, and when we hear the talons talk about how they have to do something because no one else will, we know we might be playing a part in changing the world's perception of the crows for the better. this exchange from the wigmaker job could still hold true:
but now they will be heroes everywhere, and you helped. it's a risk you had to take.