Ok, this is what I was getting at. It made sense to me that way, but you never can tell with new rules. Thanks.
Ouch.
There we have it!
Yep. Works for me.
In all seriousness, if you choose to do nothing, that’s the same as saying “They aren’t interesting to me.” The GM is perfectly reasonable to drop you with a “convince them using a persuade roll, Ob 4 for their will.” And “If you lose, you wake up in jail.” Or even, to simply declare you’ve been taken, since you weren’t resisting.
And note: “I will hold my ground” is VERY different from “I yawn and do nothing.”
Well… walking off to get cofee sounds like a flee conflict to me! And literally doing nothing? Sitting down in a meditative trance and waiting for the Thugs to go away? Sounds like an Endure conflict! We’ll call that Health for Attack and Feint, Will for Defend and Maneuver. You sit there like a regular Buddha while they pummel you until they get bored and wander off or if you lose enough disposition they apply some conditions or knock you out and steal all your treasure and gear, you did not Endure them!
Yeah, I was conflicted between packing my things up and going home and declaring that the elf is in a fight conflict and standing and drooling while I walloped him, and then packing my things up and going home 
Expediency vs. demonstration of rules mastery. Tough call.
Yeah, it does seem a bit obstinate, but I was looking for the proper method to handle this sort of thing. Forcing the player into a Conflict didn’t seem like the answer.
“Fine, I shoo them away with my sword.” Worst-case scenario, the Thugs drive the PCs off instead, which is what the PCs were trying to do in the first place. Why even bother?
As I explained above, if the players don’t act, then the thugs do whatever the GM wants. See GM’s Role on page 116. If the players don’t react to the GM’s description, then the GM keeps describing until the players do react. Until the players put their foot down and act, the GM has free reign to have his NPCs do what they wish: capture the characters, beat them, throw them in the river, slay them, haul them before a magistrate, etc.
The GM decides when a player’s description merits a test or a conflict.
Player: “I shoo them away with my sword.”
GM: “OK, you wave your sword at them. They give you a menacing look and move to knock your sword out of your hand and take you into custody.”
Player: “…”