Oh, btw. I did like the game a lot. Nevertheless, I would prefer, if in the future we could opt out of some of the characters (like Max) by persistently avoiding them; if feasible. Perhaps when more characters have been introduced (in the future). I would actually have preferred any (natural) creature from that planet, a tentacle monster/Octopus, a humanoid alien, a big horny slug... but, genetic mutants, chimeras and experimented upon specimen are not my thing. Too much full metal alchemist integrated deep into my brain. (but reading this thread, it seems like he's a fan-favourite).
I was quite glad that Max left, and wondered if this is the first branching point and something else would have been possible as well. If this is a choose your own adventure, I will keep making choices to get rid of him.
But, regardless of preferences, it is just always fun to discover unexpected things in a game. If we always got what we wanted, it would be boring.