Some more Stealth Game Musings. Do you take the Lethal or Non-Lethal path?

There's another aspect of stealth games that I didn't think of earlier.  In most stealth games you are given the option to use non-lethal methods to take down enemies (except bosses--who must die).  In Dishonored, Deus Ex:  Human Revolution, and in Bioshock:  Infinite "Burial at Sea" part 2 you can put the bad guys in ol' sleeper hold as opposed to simply shooting them in the face.  Why is this an option in stealth games but not an option in other games?

That got me thinking about the moral choices I make in games.  Typically when presented with the option to go non-lethal I will take that path.  Those poor guards--they just had the misfortune of being assigned to guard a specific area and cross paths with my Corvo or Adam or Elizabeth (which would mean poor splicers....which might morally be a little tougher choice to justify).  In Deus Ex you are even presented with weapons that are non-lethal or lethal.  Which do you choose?  Strategically going with lethal weapons is probably the better choice--most bosses require shooting and are immune to any stunning/knocking out options.

The rats in Dishonored make quick work of a corpse.

During my short replay of Dishonored I found myself knocking out guards and stashing their bodies in some closet or unseen corner.  Except for one specific guard.  I silently blinked down from a ledge right behind him and proceeded to knock him out.  There were several other guards patrolling the area and no way that I could reach the same ledge.  I decided to grab the body and jump down onto a pipe overlooking an alley populated by a group of ravenous rats.  But what do I do with the body?  Hmmm...those rats would definitely clear up that problem.  So while I specifically went to the trouble of knocking out the guard I unceremoniously dumped his body over the ledge and into the rat pile.  The rats proceeded to make quick work of the poor guard.  Afterward I felt kind of bad about that guard...what a horrible way to die--knocked out and tossed off a ledge to be eaten by a bunch of rats.  Very rarely do I think twice about the decisions I make--especially something so minor as the death of a guard.  This felt morally dubious because I had made the decision to knock out the guards rather than kill them.

Have you ever had a moment similar to this where you thought about the decision you had just made and it's moral implications?