Either the executioners in Shame really hate each other or something is weird about their behavior. Not sure if they are supposed to be aggressive towards each other, but they are. I can be taking three of them on with my new repond cutlass and shield, take two steps away and watch them finish each other off. No provoke necessary. These guys are a cinch.
Maybe they're just lashing out? It's a rather stressful existence what with all the traps going off all the time. Between that an having to administer torture and beheadings day in and day out. Maybe they just eventually snap and can't take it anymore.
Suppose you are right, what's the point of being an executioner if your not beheading everyone in sight?
