“There had to have been some occasions in which the males were killed but the females were still alive.”
Sure. But, again, the lack of Neanderthal mitochondria (which comes from mom only) in modern humans tends to prove that it was Neaderthal men slumming with homo sapien sapien women. (Or that such cross-breeds were sterile.)
That and a Neaderthal woman was still as strong as an NFL lineman, so not sure how they take to being slaves.
People always think it is the bigger, stronger, faster that survive, but being big, strong, and faster means you have to A LOT. (And a bigger brain uses a lot of calories, too.)
Scarcity of food wipes out “better” examples all the time (example: Shetland ponies ancestors were normal ponies and the pressure of poor food choices and cold made a preference for squatty little horses.)
All good points.
Suspect you left out a word in your fourth para. Probably “eat.”