system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[Halo] What happened to the brutes after Halo 3?

I didn't play halo 4 except for the multi-player,but I'm plying Halo 5's story now and I noticed that there has been no mention of the brutes. Did they just hide away after the war was over?
gpt
After the Great Schism and the dissolution of the Covenant, the Brutes mostly returned to their homeworld with the few Prophets that were left. They waged something of an asymmetric war against the Elites for a few years until the Prophets all went into hiding. Without the Prophets to keep them in-line, the Brutes fragmented into smaller tribes and fought each other as well as the Elites.

For the most part that's where things are at now. Their civilisation has essentially collapsed into a multi-fronted civil war. The tribes that remain space-faring mainly just raid Elite settlements for food and resources, but they'll hit human or Jackal or other Brute places just as readily, if they're in range. A few of the tribes have joined up with the Covenant Remnants, and a few more are lurking out in space trying to build up strength.

There's also a handful that have actually remained loyal to the Elites, though their presence is controversial. They mostly serve as security guards and servants. It's also likely that there's at least some Brutes doing mercenary work for whoever pays the most, like the Jackals.