Why did Max and the kids go to Bartertown? Did he just wanna destroy one of the only bastions of civilization in the wasteland?
Why didn’t he just let the kids go off in the desert to die and live in the oasis paradise? He gave them fair warning
Well, if I recall correctly after learning that Max wasn’t their messiah the woman and the kids had decided that they’d find the promised land on their own by wandering through the desert. Their religion had basically collapsed around them and I gather that what they did was motivated by insane desperation than anything rational. The rest is speculation: I gather that by the time Max caught up to them in an attempt to stop them from killing themselves he had ran out of water and they wouldn’t be able to make the return trip. Bartertown was nearby so they went there. As for why Max decided to go on a rescue mission to free Master and take down Auntie rather than just getting some provisions and returning… I don’t know. Revenge, I guess.
They rescued him. It was time for him to return the favor.
My hazy recollection is that he didn’t want to give anyone in Bartertown the info that there was an oasis like that within riding distance. So he went after the kids to stop them.