How did they do? Well, that was definitely a complicated question to answer. One should give them credit that Maine was standing there with a black eye and more than a few scrapes himself. But he didn't seem much worse for the wear than he would after a bit of heavy sparring with Kurt. And he was smirking.

"Good enough," he said, "for rookies. They're strong, fast. Like SPARTANs should be. But you're right about cohesion."

Not saying they were worse than Freelancers, but it was a near thing. Reminded him a bit of how poorly he'd done against Texas, with him failing to respect the skills of his teammates. Everyone wanted to be the one that put the new DI down. That didn't help in a combat situation.

"Do it again," he suggests after a thoughtful moment. "But start with arming them. Talked to your AI. There is new, modified lock-down paint we can consider. Arm them as if they are in the field. Will react to their gear, immobilize joins, give light electric sensation to mimic limbs numbing when hit."

Basically, equip them in a way where they feel like it matters, see if they work better from there. And, of course, give him the same. The ability to take their weapons if he needed. Force them to think on their feet but plan as a group.