Aye, I don't see Tom green-lighting a new way to randomly kill PCs as that's not really conducive to RP at all, but there are other drawbacks to explore, like extended travel times or a forced Abandon Unit or even loss of gold or paraphernalia. It just seems a bit strange to automatically abandon your good buddy the Viscount of Ruraltown after he gets trampled by cavalry or what have you. One would assume you'd even drag the corpse of another noble back to friendly territory for a proper funeral. Might even get some Honor for the rescue, or the potential for Prestige as with many other actions, as an incentive for the person doing the toting, to offset the time lost on travel.
No I would not assume this, in fact I would assume that in Melee combat at least it is unlikely you would even notice that your good friend was wounded unless he happened to be VERY close to you, and even then chances are you are too busy watching for dangers to yourself to be that worried. Not saying that it wouldn't happen, but it would be the exception rather then the rule.
