Which Saga Had Characters At Their Stupidest?

[Lunatic Fringe]

Nothing tops the pure idiocy of everyone in the Android/Cell arc. It literally keeps the plot going, and that is a bad thing when you have to make your characters stupid to ensure the story progresses.

Except for my boi Piccolo, of course. #NamekianWisdom

Unless you want to count rushing in to stop the Androids from wiping out Vegeta after getting his butt handed to him by #18.

I count him not aiming his Flash Grenade at 17, the target it might actually work against as opposed to Cell who he can clearly sense is above him now.

EDIT: Oh! And him being okay with Goku's training instead of killing idea when it comes to Gero, he merged Nail who sensed his entire species be annihilated and yet he's fine with an idea that he knows could have the exact thing happen on Earth. Not his best moment.

Well, in his defense on that last point, at least he made the second best gains out of everyone who trained.

[New_Guy]

Not sure if it's the "stupidest" but I'd like to give light to one of the most hated sagas.
Super 17 Saga
I for my own reasons I really like GT but this saga was pure retardation at various points.
-Trunks could've easily throttled Android 17 and saved his chauffeur even though he clearly doesn't train anymore, yet somehow he's put down with a punch and two Ki blasts.
-After catching his migraine from almost remembering how much he hated Gero Android 17 could've been dispatched once again this time by 18 or Kuririn. (Knocked unconcious at least? Maybe not?) But instead they chose to stand there in horror and when he came to, goodbye Kuririn.
-Goku foolishly falls for Gero and Mu's trap and gets stuck in hell but could've flown after them immediately instead of waiting for the portal to be nearly closed already. I guess for the plot it was neccesary for Goku to get trapped to have a rematch with Cell and Frieza but still..Could've been avoided.
-One of my favorites! Gohan vs. Rild. After kicking that rocket punch that was headed for Pan I swore Gohan was about to get down to business but boy was I wrong.. Soo if you were able to dodge most of his earlier attacks what made you decide to let yourself get caught by his metal breath attack (not sure if it had a name) was it intruiging? Was it shinier than any Ki attack you've seen before? And if Goku was able to sense from his Ki that he was Buu level or higher why oh why did you not transform into a super saiyan? After getting your arm sacrificed there was also no bright ideas about a one armed kamehameha?
-Vegeta. Hellfighter 17 is making a fool of you. Let's turn super saiyan and get rid of him, Gero, and, Mu altogether! No? Ok... sigh
-Last but not least Goku again. So if Ki based attacks clearly don't work why not go back to hand to hand before giving him even more power? And then Ssj4? My favorite form at his most foolish appearance ever. Since when has Goku ever used energy blast volley/full powered consecutive/random Ki spamming? I mean maybe roF but this is before.
-There could be many more but these stick out like a sore thumb to me.

[sbk]

Either the Cell arc or the Buu arc

[Kuririn Fan]

The Cell Arc, no contest.

[DBZAOTA482]

Not sure if it's the "stupidest" but I'd like to give light to one of the most hated sagas.
Super 17 Saga
I for my own reasons I really like GT but this saga was pure retardation at various points.
-Trunks could've easily throttled Android 17 and saved his chauffeur even though he clearly doesn't train anymore, yet somehow he's put down with a punch and two Ki blasts.
-After catching his migraine from almost remembering how much he hated Gero Android 17 could've been dispatched once again this time by 18 or Kuririn. (Knocked unconcious at least? Maybe not?) But instead they chose to stand there in horror and when he came to, goodbye Kuririn.
-Goku foolishly falls for Gero and Mu's trap and gets stuck in hell but could've flown after them immediately instead of waiting for the portal to be nearly closed already. I guess for the plot it was neccesary for Goku to get trapped to have a rematch with Cell and Freeza but still..Could've been avoided.
-One of my favorites! Gohan vs. Rild. After kicking that rocket punch that was headed for Pan I swore Gohan was about to get down to business but boy was I wrong.. Soo if you were able to dodge most of his earlier attacks what made you decide to let yourself get caught by his metal breath attack (not sure if it had a name) was it intruiging? Was it shinier than any Ki attack you've seen before? And if Goku was able to sense from his Ki that he was Buu level or higher why oh why did you not transform into a super saiyan? After getting your arm sacrificed there was also no bright ideas about a one armed kamehameha?
-Vegeta. Hellfighter 17 is making a fool of you. Let's turn super saiyan and get rid of him, Gero, and, Mu altogether! No? Ok... sigh
-Last but not least Goku again. So if Ki based attacks clearly don't work why not go back to hand to hand before giving him even more power? And then Ssj4? My favorite form at his most foolish appearance ever. Since when has Goku ever used energy blast volley/full powered consecutive/random Ki spamming? I mean maybe roF but this is before.
-There could be many more but these stick out like a sore thumb to me.

Oh yeah, forgot all about GT. All the stupid shit from Pan alone is headache-inducing.

[TheUltimateVegito]

I think people are being a bit unfair to the characters and confusing "stupid" with "personality." For example, fusing to beat Boo would have clearly been the best decision. But refusing isn't exactly STUPID of Goku or Vegeta because they ACKNOWLEDGE that it's probably a better idea, but they just want to do it a different way. Call it selfish if you want, but it isn't "stupid" if it's a conscious decision.

This. Although they should've given the Kai's the earrings, you never know when someone else might want the earrings. Kinda like how Goku cleverly saved the Time Chamber for Goten and Trunks instead of using it right away.

[ekrolo2]

I think people are being a bit unfair to the characters and confusing "stupid" with "personality." For example, fusing to beat Boo would have clearly been the best decision. But refusing isn't exactly STUPID of Goku or Vegeta because they ACKNOWLEDGE that it's probably a better idea, but they just want to do it a different way. Call it selfish if you want, but it isn't "stupid" if it's a conscious decision.

This. Although they should've given the Kai's the earrings, you never know when someone else might want the earrings. Kinda like how Goku cleverly saved the Time Chamber for Goten and Trunks instead of using it right away.

Fusions can give their earrings to someone else and can pretty much be passed on indefinitely as seen here:

Spoiler:

[irreality]

I think people are being a bit unfair to the characters and confusing "stupid" with "personality." For example, fusing to beat Boo would have clearly been the best decision. But refusing isn't exactly STUPID of Goku or Vegeta because they ACKNOWLEDGE that it's probably a better idea, but they just want to do it a different way. Call it selfish if you want, but it isn't "stupid" if it's a conscious decision.

This. Although they should've given the Kai's the earrings, you never know when someone else might want the earrings. Kinda like how Goku cleverly saved the Time Chamber for Goten and Trunks instead of using it right away.

Also, I'm not sure it is particularly selfish to not want to Potara fuse when there might be other options when it is permanent and it is, for all intents an purposes, almost more permanent than dying the DB. Vegetto unfusing the first time was lucky.

[TheUltimateVegito]

Since when has Goku ever used energy blast volley/full powered consecutive/random Ki spamming? I mean maybe roF but this is before.

He did do it against Cell.

[TheUltimateVegito]

I think people are being a bit unfair to the characters and confusing "stupid" with "personality." For example, fusing to beat Boo would have clearly been the best decision. But refusing isn't exactly STUPID of Goku or Vegeta because they ACKNOWLEDGE that it's probably a better idea, but they just want to do it a different way. Call it selfish if you want, but it isn't "stupid" if it's a conscious decision.

This. Although they should've given the Kai's the earrings, you never know when someone else might want the earrings. Kinda like how Goku cleverly saved the Time Chamber for Goten and Trunks instead of using it right away.

Fusions can give their earrings to someone else and can pretty much be passed on indefinitely as seen here:

Spoiler:

Ah, I forgot that Goku didn't actually crush the earrings here. Thanks.

[ekrolo2]

I also have to question nickzambuto when he said making a conscious decision to do something another way automatically means they're stupid. The problem is instance actually does make them look stupid twice in the same battle. They know Vegetto is a sure fire way of winning and yet they refuse, they don't even mull over Gogeta even though he would still give them a good enough boost to kill Buu without any of Vegetto's drawbacks.

Then Vegeta later decides bringing in the boys to fight is somehow a worse idea than using the Spirit Bomb even though Gotenks and Gohan would kill KB easily. When you know that 2+2=4 yet you consciously decide to say it equals 5, you're consciously making a stupid decision despite knowing better and both Goku & Vegeta are doing that in this fight.

Hell, Goku doesn't even try to telepathically divulge to Vegeta the secret behind SSJ3 just to even out the odds more in their favor despite the fact Vegeta is dead anyway and he can likely take the strain a lot better.

[Cipher]

"Stupid" is a little hard to qualify in a moral universe that rewards an at-times ludicrously dangerous fighting spirit, but the Cell arc definitely sees characters at their most frustrating.

Plenty of selfish, cavalier actions drive the Boo arc as well, but they're a little more understandable there with all the endgame feelings and Goku and Vegeta's dawning realization that they're among the strongest beings to ever exist. Also, the portion of series from the Great Saiyaman arc to the beginning of Babidi's ship is the one time in the series the entire cast is wholly likable (per a former girlfriend while going through the series, and as soon as she pointed it out I had to agree).

[irreality]

I'm going to amend my answer and say that people were actually pretty stupid in the Saiyan Saga, too.
1. Why mention the Dragon Balls to Radditz or his communication device at all? Keep your secrets secret!
2. Goku lets go of Radditz tail.
3. They didn't take into account Goku running for their wish.
4. So, Vegeta and Nappa come to Earth looking for the Dragon Balls. Except: no way they can find or use them for a year, and they won't be able to find them without the help of the crew. I feel like if they just told them that, they might be able to come up with some sort of deal. And with their track record for converting villains, a lot of death could have been avoided.
5. Even the villains were stupid: they ended up killing the source of the Dragon Balls, and could have potentially killed any means of finding them. If they started a bit more diplomatically, they could have managed their goal. And if they explained the whole "evil space tyrant thing" I'm sure everyone would have come up with a means of helping them in exchange for not killing earth. Also letting Freeza hear about the Dragon Balls in Namek.
6. Vegeta was also not very strategic in his fighting. Obvious example: should have destroyed that moon after using it.
7. Our heroes also don't get sneaky really until after Goku arrives.
8. Radditz has zero diplomatic skills.
9. Piccolo is not stupid. He achieves his goal of killing Goku and converting his son into his disciple. Self-sacrifice is arguably not stupid if he really couldn't have protected Gohan some other way.

Anyway… this isn't like in later sagas were people can debate whether they were stupid or had strange goals. They are acting on "what pops into my head first!" without regard to what would achieve their own goals.

[ekrolo2]

I'm going to amend my answer and say that people were actually pretty stupid in the Saiyan Saga, too.
1. Why mention the Dragon Balls to Radditz or his communication device at all? Keep your secrets secret!
2. Goku lets go of Radditz tail.
3. They didn't take into account Goku running for their wish.
4. So, Vegeta and Nappa come to Earth looking for the Dragon Balls. Except: no way they can find or use them for a year, and they won't be able to find them without the help of the crew. I feel like if they just told them that, they might be able to come up with some sort of deal. And with their track record for converting villains, a lot of death could have been avoided.
5. Even the villains were stupid: they ended up killing the source of the Dragon Balls, and could have potentially killed any means of finding them. If they started a bit more diplomatically, they could have managed their goal. And if they explained the whole "evil space tyrant thing" I'm sure everyone would have come up with a means of helping them in exchange for not killing earth. Also letting Freeza hear about the Dragon Balls in Namek.
6. Vegeta was also not very strategic in his fighting. Obvious example: should have destroyed that moon after using it.
7. Our heroes also don't get sneaky really until after Goku arrives.
8. Radditz has zero diplomatic skills.
9. Piccolo is not stupid. He achieves his goal of killing Goku and converting his son into his disciple. Self-sacrifice is arguably not stupid if he really couldn't have protected Gohan some other way.

Anyway… this isn't like in later sagas were people can debate whether they were stupid or had strange goals. They are acting on "what pops into my head first!" without regard to what would achieve their own goals.

1. They don't know it's a communication device until Raditz points it out. For all they know his phone or whatever could just as easily be on his ship since his only phone getting busted if someone smashes his face would be pretty inconvenient.
2. Good point, Toriyama could've easily have just made the fight go a bit longer with Goku getting Raditz in a full nelson by the end anyway, avoiding this scene of stupidity entirely.
3. If you mean him running Snake Way I'm pretty sure no one has a clue about it nor is there a scene where the good guys even hint at knowing about it.
4. Diplomacy with Saiyan's? Not even remotely possible. If Goku's own brother was willing to kidnap his son and kill Goku, why should a pair of guys who don't waste any time in letting the others know how little regard they have for Raditz be swayed by anything? Nor is Piccolo really redeemed in the eyes of anyone until he dies to save Gohan, even Tien comments that they'll likely become enemies once the Saiyan's are finished with. Besides, they were intending on keeping Piccolo alive as they identified him as a Namekian.
5. Once again, diplomacy with a couple of psychopaths wouldn't have gone anywhere at all and even hypothetically speaking if they did, they'd turn on the Earthlings once they got what they wanted. The Freeza thing is somewhat debatable since Toriyama completely changes Vegeta's motivation from fighting forever to killing Freeza nor do Nappa and Vegeta at any point act as if they've got a superior officer to answer to. Kanzenshuu details this more in the intended endings portion.
6. Vegeta didn't count on Gohan's tail magically appearing mid fight. Hell, he didn't even count on needing it the Oozaru form at all.
7. Somewhat of a good point though their sneakiness wouldn't last long. Nappa can pretty much outrun them all and even if say Tien and Chaotzu tried a sneak attack, it wouldn't do jack to Vegeta anyhow.
8. He's not there for diplomacy, he came there to see if the Earth was leveled and get his brother back by any means necessary, even to fight him. He's not there for peace or to be his buddy or reason with him, he's there to get another body to throw at a mission they've got in the pipeline.
9. The Piccolo scene is dumb because he could've just snatched him out of the way or stretched his arms but dramatic effect demands it be so, same thing with Raditz.

[Lunatic Fringe]

I'm going to amend my answer and say that people were actually pretty stupid in the Saiyan Saga, too.
1. Why mention the Dragon Balls to Radditz or his communication device at all? Keep your secrets secret!
2. Goku lets go of Radditz tail.
3. They didn't take into account Goku running for their wish.
4. So, Vegeta and Nappa come to Earth looking for the Dragon Balls. Except: no way they can find or use them for a year, and they won't be able to find them without the help of the crew. I feel like if they just told them that, they might be able to come up with some sort of deal. And with their track record for converting villains, a lot of death could have been avoided.
5. Even the villains were stupid: they ended up killing the source of the Dragon Balls, and could have potentially killed any means of finding them. If they started a bit more diplomatically, they could have managed their goal. And if they explained the whole "evil space tyrant thing" I'm sure everyone would have come up with a means of helping them in exchange for not killing earth. Also letting Freeza hear about the Dragon Balls in Namek.
6. Vegeta was also not very strategic in his fighting. Obvious example: should have destroyed that moon after using it.
7. Our heroes also don't get sneaky really until after Goku arrives.
8. Radditz has zero diplomatic skills.
9. Piccolo is not stupid. He achieves his goal of killing Goku and converting his son into his disciple. Self-sacrifice is arguably not stupid if he really couldn't have protected Gohan some other way.

Anyway… this isn't like in later sagas were people can debate whether they were stupid or had strange goals. They are acting on "what pops into my head first!" without regard to what would achieve their own goals.

Don't forget about Vegeta, despite sensing Goku approaching and acknowledging that he and the remaining Z-Fighters could present somewhat of a challenge, leaving wiping out Goku's friends in the hands of the man who would've been killed if not for his intervention despite having the highest BP out of everyone present and could just hack their heads off in the blink of an eye.

[ABED]

he could've just snatched him out of the way or stretched his arms but dramatic effect demands it be so, same thing with Raditz.

Maybe he can't stretch his arms as quickly as he can run.

[irreality]

1. They don't know it's a communication device until Raditz points it out. For all they know his phone or whatever could just as easily be on his ship since his only phone getting busted if someone smashes his face would be pretty inconvenient.
2. Good point, Toriyama could've easily have just made the fight go a bit longer with Goku getting Raditz in a full nelson by the end anyway, avoiding this scene of stupidity entirely.
3. If you mean him running Snake Way I'm pretty sure no one has a clue about it nor is there a scene where the good guys even hint at knowing about it.
4. Diplomacy with Saiyan's? Not even remotely possible. If Goku's own brother was willing to kidnap his son and kill Goku, why should a pair of guys who don't waste any time in letting the others know how little regard they have for Raditz be swayed by anything? Nor is Piccolo really redeemed in the eyes of anyone until he dies to save Gohan, even Tenshinhan comments that they'll likely become enemies once the Saiyan's are finished with. Besides, they were intending on keeping Piccolo alive as they identified him as a Namekian.
5. Once again, diplomacy with a couple of psychopaths wouldn't have gone anywhere at all and even hypothetically speaking if they did, they'd turn on the Earthlings once they got what they wanted. The Freeza thing is somewhat debatable since Toriyama completely changes Vegeta's motivation from fighting forever to killing Freeza nor do Nappa and Vegeta at any point act as if they've got a superior officer to answer to. Kanzenshuu details this more in the intended endings portion.
6. Vegeta didn't count on Gohan's tail magically appearing mid fight. Hell, he didn't even count on needing it the Oozaru form at all.
7. Somewhat of a good point though their sneakiness wouldn't last long. Nappa can pretty much outrun them all and even if say Tenshinhan and Chaotzu tried a sneak attack, it wouldn't do jack to Vegeta anyhow.
8. He's not there for diplomacy, he came there to see if the Earth was leveled and get his brother back by any means necessary, even to fight him. He's not there for peace or to be his buddy or reason with him, he's there to get another body to throw at a mission they've got in the pipeline.
9. The Piccolo scene is dumb because he could've just snatched him out of the way or stretched his arms but dramatic effect demands it be so, same thing with Raditz.

1. Still shouldn't mention them.
3. Don't leave your resurrection until the last moment, basically, is my point.
4-5. They didn't even try, is my point. Vegeta *did* end up becoming a good guy, just from hanging out on Earth, after all. You never know. I know the out-of-universe explanation is that Toriyama hadn't come up with later plot by then. But in-universe: Saiyans have goals, humans have goals, Piccolo has goals, and we know from later that they aren't that dissimilar: get rid of universal terrorists, become the strongest fighter, and not die. If diplomacy fails, there is always plan B.
6. He *should* have, though, if he had been smarter: he knew tails grow back, especially in younger saiyans and especially in stressful situations. Thus the stupid. (I'm not sure what Vegeta not planning on turning Oozaru has to do with this: he deliberately created that moonlight, get rid of it once you are done with it). Nevertheless, that is only one example of bad strategy. Not killing people earlier is another.
7. The sneakiness was most effective against Vegeta, though! It could have been more effective than fighting openly. When completely outmatched, use guerrilla tactics.
8. But what use would getting Goku unwillingly *really* do? He won't be much good. Earth is not an important planet in the planet trade. Having another ally for their work and against Freeza would have been much more valuable. Radditz wasn't under orders, really, when fetching Goku. Freeza didn't ask him to, and Vegeta likely didn't care. It was entirely his own initiative. Why be so thickheaded about it?
9. Yeah, dunno, could go either way: snatching someone or trying to push them out of the way could end with both of them being hit. I think it is stupid, but it is arguably not if the alternate move would have been harder to do. Amd giving him a tiny bit of credit. :p

[ekrolo2]

1. They don't know it's a communication device until Raditz points it out. For all they know his phone or whatever could just as easily be on his ship since his only phone getting busted if someone smashes his face would be pretty inconvenient.
2. Good point, Toriyama could've easily have just made the fight go a bit longer with Goku getting Raditz in a full nelson by the end anyway, avoiding this scene of stupidity entirely.
3. If you mean him running Snake Way I'm pretty sure no one has a clue about it nor is there a scene where the good guys even hint at knowing about it.
4. Diplomacy with Saiyan's? Not even remotely possible. If Goku's own brother was willing to kidnap his son and kill Goku, why should a pair of guys who don't waste any time in letting the others know how little regard they have for Raditz be swayed by anything? Nor is Piccolo really redeemed in the eyes of anyone until he dies to save Gohan, even Tenshinhan comments that they'll likely become enemies once the Saiyan's are finished with. Besides, they were intending on keeping Piccolo alive as they identified him as a Namekian.
5. Once again, diplomacy with a couple of psychopaths wouldn't have gone anywhere at all and even hypothetically speaking if they did, they'd turn on the Earthlings once they got what they wanted. The Freeza thing is somewhat debatable since Toriyama completely changes Vegeta's motivation from fighting forever to killing Freeza nor do Nappa and Vegeta at any point act as if they've got a superior officer to answer to. Kanzenshuu details this more in the intended endings portion.
6. Vegeta didn't count on Gohan's tail magically appearing mid fight. Hell, he didn't even count on needing it the Oozaru form at all.
7. Somewhat of a good point though their sneakiness wouldn't last long. Nappa can pretty much outrun them all and even if say Tenshinhan and Chaotzu tried a sneak attack, it wouldn't do jack to Vegeta anyhow.
8. He's not there for diplomacy, he came there to see if the Earth was leveled and get his brother back by any means necessary, even to fight him. He's not there for peace or to be his buddy or reason with him, he's there to get another body to throw at a mission they've got in the pipeline.
9. The Piccolo scene is dumb because he could've just snatched him out of the way or stretched his arms but dramatic effect demands it be so, same thing with Raditz.

1. Still shouldn't mention them.
3. Don't leave your resurrection until the last moment, basically, is my point.
4-5. They didn't even try, is my point. Vegeta *did* end up becoming a good guy, just from hanging out on Earth, after all. You never know. I know the out-of-universe explanation is that Toriyama hadn't come up with later plot by then. But in-universe: Saiyans have goals, humans have goals, Piccolo has goals, and we know from later that they aren't that dissimilar: get rid of universal terrorists, become the strongest fighter, and not die. If diplomacy fails, there is always plan B.
6. He *should* have, though, if he had been smarter: he knew tails grow back, especially in younger saiyans and especially in stressful situations. Thus the stupid. (I'm not sure what Vegeta not planning on turning Oozaru has to do with this: he deliberately created that moonlight, get rid of it once you are done with it). Nevertheless, that is only one example of bad strategy. Not killing people earlier is another.
7. The sneakiness was most effective against Vegeta, though! It could have been more effective than fighting openly. When completely outmatched, use guerrilla tactics.
8. But what use would getting Goku unwillingly *really* do? He won't be much good. Earth is not an important planet in the planet trade. Having another ally for their work and against Freeza would have been much more valuable. Radditz wasn't under orders, really, when fetching Goku. Freeza didn't ask him to, and Vegeta likely didn't care. It was entirely his own initiative. Why be so thickheaded about it?
9. Yeah, dunno, could go either way: snatching someone or trying to push them out of the way could end with both of them being hit. I think it is stupid, but it is arguably not if the alternate move would have been harder to do. Amd giving him a tiny bit of credit. :p

1. Could go either way but still, they have no reason to suspect Raditz is bugged or that anything will come of them telling him beyond Piccolo getting some satisfaction at how he'll die knowing the one guy who went with him will be coming back soon.
3. Goku can train better with a dead body since he doesn't have to concern himself with things like food, water and can push himself further. The only stupid one here is King Kai for not taking Goku's return time into account not the timing of the actual resurrection.
4-5. Once again you overestimate Saiyan's capacity for any kind of tactics beyond murder and fighting. Vegeta and Nappa only need Piccolo, the rest are worthless and are there for little more than target practice so they can stretch their legs. They have no reason to try talking to any of them beyond interrogating Piccolo nor do the humans have any reason to trust them they'll keep their word. Who's to say them aiding Vegeta just 1) gets them all killed by involving themselves with Freeza 2) gets Vegeta & Nappa their immortality at which point they'd both kill the Earthlings.
6. Got me there.
7. It was only effective because Yajirobe cut off Vegeta's tail. Krillin and Gohan try to use the Kienzan and Vegeta sees right through it. The best case scenario is that Krillin sneaking around manages to off Nappa with a Kienzan at which point Vegeta murders everyone. Yajirobe and everyone else would be entirely useless in this scenario.
8. Raditz assumes Goku to be a wild beast who's likely spent 23-24 years on a desolate planet and doesn't need Goku for much more than a body to throw at whatever planet they need to throw him at. Once Goku flat out refuses him knowingly Raditz only has the option to force his hand or kill him. Diplomacy is not an option even if Raditz came up with it. Goku wouldn't agree to anything, Raditz sees this and tries to force him instead. Even if Goku tries anything Vegeta and Nappa can effortlessly kill or subdue him.

[ABED]

Saiyans are space pirates, they aren't interested in diplomacy.

[irreality]

Saiyans are space pirates, they aren't interested in diplomacy.

Saiyan racism, much? And in any case, what does this mean? That you can't be allied with pirates if you share the same goals? You are making Vegeta and Nappa sound like mindless killing machines like Kid Buu, who is one of the only villains in the series that couldn't be reasoned with.

Anyway, this isn't about what type of people the Saiyans are or are not: it is about what is smart or isn't smart. When a force vastly overpowers you, it is in your best interest to attempt a solution that doesn't involve fighting first if you have leverage. The Z fighters had incredible bargaining leverage in regards to finding the dragon balls. And as later plot shows: there is no reason this wouldn't have worked (if Toriyama knew any plot ahead of time!). Of course, if that fails, let fighting commence. Nothing would have been lost.

We aren't talking about Saiyans as an abstract blob, either. We are talking about two specific Saiyans, one who is now the secondary protagonist of the series; two saiyans with no home planet and no allies looking for a way to defeat their master. Vegeta and Nappa cared nothing for Earth at all. They aren't specifically there for revenge or to conquer earth. They just really wanted immortality to beat Freeza. You think they can't be reasoned with? Krillin and Gohan found a way to make a temporary alliance with Vegeta not a few months later, and outsmart him out of his wish at the last minute -- *that* is smart.

We know Vegeta *can* be reasoned with and can adapt to life on Earth, but what about Nappa, you say? Well, Nappa thought the plan in coming to earth was to have a bunch of half-saiyan babies to help them out. Vegeta nixed that idea (fearing stronger offspring), but if Nappa was open to that idea, means he might be open to similar ideas.

It might have failed, it is true. But they didn't even try -- trying might have bought them even an extra hour and stalled until Goku got there (if they were sufficiently obsequious, it might have bought them an extra *year*!). That is where the stupidity lies.