It was simply to say that killing Del would have had the same effect of triggering a change in JDs character. Whether it would have been a good decision or not, that’s a different matter entirely.
And I could argue forever about the should and shouldn’t haves on Gears 5 Campaign like the Lizzie scene or the “choice” at the end which isn’t really a choice because TC apparently have a canon ending planned anyway, for 5.
And where is Del’s importance in the COG? Ok, he served with them some time prior and got to the rank of Lieutenant, but he really doesn’t seem very COG-y and like he cares too much about the military organization itself(we don’t even know if Marcus gave him the same advice of not joining up like he gave to JD). But the overall effect it would have seems quite limited if he’d died earlier on. TC could have had a replacement for Del in Act 2 as Kait’s sidekick(hint hint) easily.
And to me combat is a different scenario than getting chased around by an unpredictable Hammer of Dawn beam and everyone’s brains suddenly shutting down for no reason.