If Belos treated Hunter and the other Grimwalkers like actual nephews do you think they would have followed him to the human realm? Shouldn't he have done that since he wanted their loyalty?

I believe so. He’d need to not apply the coven sigil in order for them to survive and be able to go to the Human Realm. However, that would also depend on how much of the Day of Unity that they saw or how well Philip was able to lie about it. Even still, it’s unlikely that Philip would change this behavior.

Philip comes from a culture that placed heavy emphasis on discipline and punishment. Puritans believed that those two factors were vital for ensuring children stayed on the righteous path. This led to many harsh punishments such as being publicly whipped for missing church, being branded on a visible part of the body (hands, arms, face) for various crimes, or being put in a pillory for lying or maybe having to wear a demeaning sign.

Philip likely comes from a……controversial sect of his religion and likely absorbed these beliefs alongside his indoctrination regarding witches. I believe that he overcompensates this discipline in his parenting style due to his expectation that the Grimwalkers will always betray him and that disciplining them might stamp out those traitorous thoughts.

Sorry about the rambling.

I agree that your idea is incredibly plausible, and that it is Philip’s goal with the Grimwalkers!