Thieves to Be or Not to Be

Thieves to Be or Not to Be in OD&D

I really like the thief class and I always have. As you know, thieves weren't a part of the LBBs and were introduced in Supplement 1: Greyhawk, and I have the option to include them or not and I'm undecided at this stage.

Thief

• One OD&D variant I really like is Oakes Spalding's variant presented in Seven Voyages of Zylarthen.
• Many players love playing thieves.
• Thieves have a different area of expertise (Underworld exploration) than other classes  and balance them well.
• Thieves have a natural place in Sword & Sorcery literature, such as Cugel, Conan or the Grey Mouser, to a higher degree than clerics, for instance.

No thief

• I have found that not including thieves sort of makes everyone a thief, which I really like. 
• Many "thief" archetypes, some mentioned above, would be thieves by profession only. If I would simulate Conan in OD&D, I would roll a Fighting Man, not a Thief.
• Thieves are not in the LBBs, and I admit to having purist tendencies.