Within each person is a (usually asymmetric) struggle for decision making between the person’s intellect and the person’s biological programming, Often, the more intelligent the person, the more likely that the intellect is the dominant decision maker. Oftentimes when there has been an outlier of an unintelligent person trying to make decisions with his intellect instead of his programming, there has been a foolish decision made that might have gotten the free-thinking fool culled from the herd. For example, Darwin Award “winners” would’ve been better off following their programming and finding safety in the conventions of the herd.

In group vs group competition, it has been a benefit to a group to have some members who think differently than the herd, because those members come up with the ideas and innovations that help the whole group out-compete the other group(s). So nature finds a balance between risky free thinkers and safe group thinkers. It usually comes out similarly to the 20/80 you mentioned.

The NPCs with modest intellects kind of have to be followers, or else they would make foolish decisions that get themselves killed or that harm the group. The cabal has exploited this natural tendency towards following by providing false leaders. Eg Judas goats