I did not intend to imply that Shane was in anyway honorable. – He certainly isn’t! No, I asked if his actions were honorable. Shane is beyond a doubt an amoral person at best, who for lack of a better example is a cop who sees himself as essentially above the law. He strikes me as someone who not only covets what his best friend has with his family but also his friend’s moral fortitude which he can’t always understand. 
I still can't accept that his actions were honorable. Even if we could examine the actions exclusive of the motivation and character of the person taking them, I would still say the act was inherently dishonorable. I don't necessarily agree that Shane is amoral. I think some of his actions can be viewed as straight up immoral. He knows what he does is terrible, he says "I'm sorry" to Otis before he shoots him in the leg. He shaves his head when he's back at the farm house as if he's stripping away his shame for what he knows was a terrible thing to do.
He definitely covets what Rick has. During the first season before Rick's wife and son know that Rick's still alive, Shane is filling Rick's role in the family. He still wants that. If Shane's actions with Otis were anything more than self-preservation, I would dare say that his motivation in being the hero and saving Rick's son is to be the hero for Rick's wife, whom I think we can agree he's in love with. I think Shane is a deeply pained person. He wants to feel the love that Rick experiences through his family, but he can't stop himself from doing certain things to try to regain what he thinks he used to have with Rick's wife. It seems like his desire to go off by himself and leave the group are more driven by his inability to cope with what he can't have, not that he's a true loaner. If anything, he's the exact opposite but feels like it's out of reach for him now. And by the way, Shane is one of the most interesting characters on the show!
