This may or may not be a bug, but if it IS a bug, it's an awesome one.
So, I start out an adventurer with max sword skill and nothing else just for fun, but I noticed it started me out with a crappy copper sword and shield, and I didn't want to deal with a shield, so I went to the weapons shop to find a nice twohander.
The two handed sword they had was really nice but he wouldn't trade for my shield and sword, so I just stole it.
As I'm running out of town, semi-slowly due to being weighed down by all this metal,
A guard comes running after me, and I can't get away. I tried talking to him, but he was in enemy mode so I couldn't.
So, I turn around, set my feet, and give him a good whack with my sword. It gets embedded in the guards right hip. I'm thinking about how bad it is to be face to face with a flail wielding guard so I step back to pull it out, but I lost possession of the sword.
So, I run around the guard, grab the sword, turn around to continue the fight, and lo and behold, Mr. Guard no longer wants to fight
He isn't a guard anymore. He's a maceman. I talk to him, and he happily joins my party. Is this a bug, or did I defeat him in battle so he surrendered and joined me?
As you can see, he's turned from a Guard into a Maceman, after I hit him. There are no other NPC's around. You can see that in the combat log, I hit the "GUARD" in the right hip, but in the other screenshot, you can see that the friendly maceman has a wound on his right hip.
Did he swear allegiance to me after being defeated? Is this a bug? Who cares! He's my homie, now.