Karger

We know from Mistborn that shards can be kept in place by things other then formal agreements. I would think that two shards could at the very least pin another one.

Fairly close. However entities like the East India Company don't exist without some kind of government backing them.

You really had to make me do it didn't you. What we know so far about... The GBs themselves The GBs are cosmere aware and capable at espionage, blackmail, assassination, research and recruitment. They have a hierarchy and Mraize claims that they are protective of each other and their organization as a whole. While this may just be propaganda the lack of any rouge operatives or general knowledge of their activities implies they are very good at policing themselves and that does not happen without a large committed group making it that way. The GBs are highly goal and results oriented. They do not(as far as we know) undertake missions related to personal vendettas or work haphazardly. When we see a GB do something it is always because they have a particular purpose in mind. Even a fairly young(and I think junior) member, Kabsal, was careful and fairly patient. How they got where they are now They somehow knew about the oncoming desolation prior to its onset. More importantly they knew about it prior to Gavilar's assassination. We only are aware of three sources of information on this topic. The first is Gavilar, the second is the Heralds and the third are the spren. The only other possibility is that they must be backed by a shard or at least have access to some form of reliable future sight. We know they had good information about Urithiru's location and capabilities. Also Gavilar knew about them and suspected that they wanted him dead. I think we can rule out Gavilar choosing to confide in them. I also do not think they would be able to find information about Urithiru from him. Ishar is the only proactive Herald we know of(Nale operates at his instruction) other then Kelek. While Kelek being their founder would be awesome they apparently have the secret to him running away(getting investiture off world) which seems his primary goal already. However his involvement would explain a lot about how they know so much as well as how they keep tabs on Nale's activities. We also know they have relationships with the spren(they pass through shadesmar) and that some(like the highspren) have records that the GBs could have used to learn about the tower's capabilities. What they want So far they have worked diligently to gain access to radiants and shadesmar passage. Mraize claims they are working to profit off of the investiture trade they can set up cosmere wide. If this works out they could gain footholds in emerging cultures everywhere allowing them all incredible amounts of both wealth and power on many worlds. While its potential for gain is undeniable this seems too ambitious for an organization not backed by a government or other political entity unless an immortal is involved. So what are they? An organized politically motivated business venture that does not care about law or morality and is working on world domination. Basically they are a multinational corporation with more killing and a side of politics. Most of the GB hierarchy will be dead prior to the pay off so to give an answer to the OP they don't really fit into any one category you put forward. A close earth analog does not exist but "legitimate" business comes fairly close. (Given that they operate in areas with no laws and don't seem to care about the law in places that they have business dealings calling them legitimate does not seem appropriate). I also remembered I have this theory sitting in my hall. It will probably be disproved but it is what I though in days gone by.

The way the stormfather described him. The one who was not a king general or scholar. Also Dalinar put two and two together. He had Taln in custody at the same time this started.

The books actually started staring Wayne but Brandon decided that Wayne would not work without a strait man so Wax was born. They also work better as the dynamic duo who the books collectively are about.

The human battle is necessarily reactive because their goal is fundamentally to not die. Also the humans are growing steadily more capable while the fused are limited basically to what they can already do and will be for at least a decade.

I don't think we have enough info to answer the OP. We don't know who actually governs the GB's actions.

I think those were just for coordination and I also think that rhythms are not equivalent to spren or metals.

Very minor RoW spoiler

Oh absolutely. By direct surgebindings I was referencing the idea that you could somehow make a disease from scratch. It is absolutely possible but without advanced computational systems old fashioned breeding seems way way way more practical.

Maybe. That does bring up the question of what Lirin's arc will be.

Given that the Syl interlude takes place quite a bit later it is possible, even likely, that he tries several other things first and probably a few afterward. Journey of self discovery and all that. I personally think he will work on some more humanitarian missions. Harthstone is not the only occupied town in need of an evac and given the scale of the war you are going to be dealing with a lot of displaced people. Kaladin's depression is one of the most compelling, realistic, and well written parts of SA. Depression is genetic. It does not come from anywhere although certain experiences can definitely improve or exacerbate it. Kaladin will never be cured of depression because it is not something "wrong" with him. Depending on what his life looks like in the future though he could definitely make some adjustments into how it impacts his daily life. Repairing his relationship with his father would probably help but I am not sure Lirin has any answers for Kaladin at this point nor do I think Lirin can really accept Kal as a soldier. Unfortunately as Zahel pointed out Kaladin is still a soldier. That being said. No way he can get a job in this economy!

I still reject the possibility of direct surgebindings to make a plague. Breeding seems much simpler.

Maybe. Or maybe he just unsuppresses every few weeks and reverses his aging. Even people with just one breath have life sense and given that he is invested and Vahser is practiced he should be able to pick out Kaladin even without it being perfect.

Yes I saw.

Like and equal are not the same. Equal treatment/opportunity is not the same as being the same. First of all it absolutely matters. Second of all for an alliance to work the different groups will have to take risks. Many Honorspren will have to leave lasting integrity weakening that city's deference. In the short term that is bad for the survival of honorspren but it still increases the odds of total survival for everyone. No I am not. I am pointing out that they will have to learn to trust.

Mrazie being unhappy makes me happy(as long as he does not know I am amused).

He is sneaky, cosmere aware, alive, and probably on roshar. Sounds like he fits our perp.

Kind of. We saw a woman who had vine hands in OB. It was pretty gross.

Shallan deciding to trust Azure to deal with the GB. I agree. The 17th shard's involvement would be indirect under these circumstances.

OK lets do this. I can't actually know anything beyond my own existence. As has been pointed out any expansion on this paradigm leaves room for me being wrong. So no I cannot say for certain that I do not believe in objective truth. Even if I said yes to this question I would be stating that I believed I could prove a negative which is generally considered impossible under the expanded logical paradigm that most humans currently use to make decisions.

Roshar does not have tectonic or volcanic activity. We don't know what its core is made of.

Thank you. Your argument could easily be valid. The analogy I was pointing to was thematic not mechanical. Leshwi is clearly a foil for Kaladin and is our Shanay-im representative. I don't think we will have a one to one match up in any event.

My point stands. CS can if they posses a physical body produce children.

Or just use Pattern for most of them.