A shift in Covenant hierarchy after the Elite civil insurrection has put Brutes in a position of military command. Until recently the Brutes played second fiddle to the Elites. With their former superiors gone, the Brutes have wasted no time in applying their pack and Alpha male mentality to their Covenant role. They are powerful, dangerous, and prone to acts of berserker violence.

NOTE: One can almost read the bullet list that the marketing company was given to flesh out here: "alpha male" and "brute pack". Interesting how individual Prophets (Truth) and Elites (Arbiter) are given special treatment here, but no one Brute is singled out. Perhaps because whatever single leader the Brutes now have is a new character since Tartarus is dead.

One can only hope that gameplay-wise, the behavior of Brutes mimics what we see here; that they emerge from the shadow of the Elites.