Your points may or may not have merit, but seriously consider the roleplaying opportunities that would be curtailed were this the case.
Can you give me an example of what you're talking about? What would be curtailed exactly?
To me, this is just a question of realism. Nobles already have some chance to escape custody when they are taken prisoner, this just extends that to the battlefield. And maybe an alternative would be to provide for an INCREASE in the chance to escape instead of making escape automatic?
Doesn't this expand opportunity for roleplaying?
