I've been trying to work out what are the goals of the Brotherhood of Steel in Fallout 4.

I understand why they would be aggressive towards the Institute, but their open animosity towards the Railroad is something I cannot comprehend.

At a certain point, the Brotherhood orders you to destroy the Railroad if you wish to become a full member of this faction.

Since I haven't been able to find out anything that explains what the priorities of this group are, can anyone explain it to me?

What do they gain by destroying the Railroad and why are they opposed to them?

What is their leadership like, is this chapter of the organization run by hardnosed extremists only out for themselves?

Not that the Railroad are occupying the higher moral ground, if you side with them, they ask you to remove the BoS from consideration.

It's made even more confusing by the fact that every Brotherhood soldier I have encountered in the field isn't overtly hostile, they will even talk a little, even if it's only to say they are on duty and can't talk right now (the implication being if they were off-duty, they'd be more forthcoming to have conversations).

At this point, given that I can't resolve the conflict of why they are fighting, I'm thinking the most prudent course of action would be to ignore both of them and just rely on the Minutemen instead to take the fight to the Institute.

At least they don't ask you to attack potential allies for no reason.

BoS are anti abusive technology, synths are on par with FEV Super Mutants to them so they dislike railroad cause they are trying to save abominations.

They hate nonhumans. Which synths are.

The Brotherhood wants to destroy all Synths.

This is why they want to destroy the Institute.

The Railroad is a group of Synths and those who love them.

It's pretty straightforward.

Albeit, sort of like the "House wants to blow up the Mojave BoS" thing for a lot of players.

It's because Synths are abominations and BoS want to prevent the Rise of the Machines. The Institute is also kidnapping people to make them and then murdering the people afterward of course

PS Even so, I'm probably helping the railroad, though I don't yet know how it turns out. And not because I believe in their cause or like them

They're racist pricks that think only humans should matter.

Simple really. They're as bad as the super mutants that think they're superior because of what they are. I would have loved to have pointed this out to them in dialog.

They'd probably ignore or try to justify it.

Paladin Danse is a great guy to be sarcastic to.

His arguments are NONSENSICAL.

But he's immune to thinking critically.

"We're human. They're mutant". How is that any better then "We're mutant. They're human"? Long as both sides keep thinking that way there will never be peace.

Why am I not able to say this to them in game?

Thinking on it, the whole "Brotherhood vs super mutant" thing seems very on the side at this point. We get some random encounters and they're in the way here and there but nothing that really gets the ball rolling ultimately. No more "They're in this big fort/underground base" or anything like that. At least Enclave had motive and went out of it's way to be an obstacle.

Because they wouldn't listen.

So they're basically xenophobic?

It's not human, ergo, it's bad, we must kill it?

And amusingly enough, the Supermutants say a similar sentiment: humans weak, supermutants strong.

Better hope this division doesn't end up in Washington or the Mojave.

In Washington, the BoS chapter there would gun them down as soon as they looked funny at a friendly Supermutant or Ghoul.

The NCR are quite accepting of non-standard humans (provided they are not aggressive), so that would not be a fight to provoke either.

Especially given the NCR are the only force to have ever defeated the Brotherhood!

This IS the Washington Chapter of the BOS.

Poor Sarah Lyons died in battle a year after her father died of natural causes.

So they elected Arthur Maxson who adopted his "kill all nonhumans" policy, perhaps because he grew up in the Capital Wasteland where everything is Hell.

Which is weird since electing the LW as new elder would have more sense.

Its likely the LW did as most Fallout protagonists do, which is ultimately fade into the backdrop and exist only as legends.

Assuming the Good Karma, "Canon" Lone Wanderer of a type similar to the Vault Dweller, I would assume the Brotherhood of Steel pushed him or her out. Doctor Li makes it clear the Brotherhood was more interested in turning the Capital Wasteland into a military resource for their expansion and conquest than they were in actually helping people. Likewise, as a scientist, she had to either join or get out.

In a lot of real-life political reformations, there's a conservative backlash after an extremely liberal leader (like Lyons). Arthur, as the descendant of the Maxson line, was probably chosen by the conservatives to be a figurehead only for Arthur to prove a demagogue and wannabe Alexander the Great.

My headcanon is the Lone Wanderer left in disgust after Sarah's death and Arthur's election, forming a chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel in the Pitt. Maybe building a second Project: Purity to clean the river there.

Because, why not?

I don't think they even mention him at all though.

Or maybe he joined Ashur at the Pitt in mutual disgust at the Brotherhood, and the fact that Ashur was right all along about them.

I've Brotherhood heard some Brothers making insulting comments about Elder Lyons, Sarah Lyons, and their "Friend."

You can hear the quotation marks of contempt.

Weird, over at TVtropes.org, I said that Ashur was a good bit of foreshadowing.

At the end of the day, the BoS was probably more like him than Elder Lyons.

Still he's trying to do something better with it.

Kill all synths and not care how many people die in the process. That is their motivation.

I'm worried about the discovery Elder Maxson was appointed by the West Coast Elders.

It seems like he's their puppet for taking over Elder Lyon's achievements.

How could they communicate with them let alone enforce any kind of authority over them.

It's in a terminal Elder Maxson was their pick for Elder.

http://i.imgur.com/15pVzXa.jpg

Maxson also realigned the Brotherhood with the Outcasts.

So, the West Coast Brotherhood Elders not only still exist but have "legitimized" the East Coast Brotherhood, bringing them back into the fold. They're not renegades anymore, just another branch.

Why did they even listen the west coast was bogged bown in the NCR war and couldn't do anything to stop them.

It makes no sense but it seems Elder Maxson has a big [censored] on for bringing the East Coast Brotherhood back to traditionalist BoS values.

Albeit, they still recruit Wastelanders because he's not an idiot.

Even then, it's about the ONLY thing he's changed.