I wanted to get away from 40k Orks so went more with Shamanistic Orcs from World of Warcraft, which are pretty articulate but are shamanistic with a warrior culture. They might be big mean and green, but deep down they're just people. I'm not sure how OPR will go with their Lore but I think that some differentiation with 40k would probably be a good idea. For instance the Rate Men of Grimdark Future are totally different!
Ellowin getting eaten was not part of his plan, and I just thought it would make for a more interesting meeting. As for Grog's motivation for lettings him out, it really wasn't much bother for him to save someones life so why not. That and Grog's been tracking solo for two weeks and he's a bit of a talker <LOL>.