Do not forget the events after the first war of Armageddon. The wolves tried to defend the survivors against the inquisition and their greyknights. This ends with a just-imperial war on Fenris, with the mighty Bjorn stopping the war and a reproof for the inquisition (who withdraw quite intimitated by the fierce of the wolves). So there are chapters who will always fight for the innocent.
I don't remember that part, but that's very Salamanders-like. I always took that, not as the Wolves wanting to "protect the innocents", but more that the Inquisition killing everyone meant that they had done all that for nothing, and nobody makes the Wolves work for nothing.
Never hurts to ask besides sometimes its nice to learn things like this about races or armies as its still lore. As for space marines hurting children or the defenseless it varies from chapter to chapter. I know for a fact Space Wolves will throw themselves and die to protect civilians. They've been known to beat or kill Inquisitors and other chapters who harm civilians. They take the "defenders of mankind" very seriously
I think it is more like judging the people to death before they POSSIBLY commit a crime. (tainted or not, who knows? who cares?) That's the reason the wolves were so angry. Mind-manipulation to forget the war was too expensive for the people, so deporting them to a deathworld was the deal. I think the wolves would've been happy with "ok guys, you saw demons, you get to a lonely planet and do some agriculture, have fun. Armageddon is too important for doubts, but we think you could live a normal life on your new cornplanet." and not this "everyone who has heard the word demon alone must die!" The Inquisition doesn't count the corpses, they count the running and working planets.
And only the plot armor of the Space Wolves saved them from an Exterminatus. The Inquisition quite like those, and NO ONE is allowed to know that the Grey Knights exists (except for a selected few).
I think the definition of plot armor is a bit different. The SW get their brains washed except the chosen few and everythings fine. The death sentence to everyone else is the big problem why the wolves were so angry. This ultimatum just spits on the face of every brave soldier and probably mades them think "maybe the chaos was the better choice"... So the strict way of the inquisition to defend the whole humanity collides with the way of the wolves to defend every single man... I don't know what would be better, I think there is no escape plan for everybody. It's grimdark
