I like the elder's character. He's a cunning opportunist, but he knows exactly where he should bet his chips. A trash poorly thought out character in his shoes would've fled the village by now as if they couldn't think of the following consequences (no longer having allies to rely on in a dangerous land, possibility of demoralising the entire village and being hunted down by stragglers, etc).
It's actually the bare minimum to have characters who show basic cognitive abilities, but the sea of crappily written characters who only exist to make the MC look good out there makes the elder look much more fleshed out in comparison.