Merging two characters into one

One of the comments I got back from a professional writer/producer regarding “Vermin” was there were too many characters in some scenes to keep track of. I am contemplating merging two into one. Unfortunately, it’ll be a little harder to achieve than just simple math.

Another easy fix is just to kill them off, but it does affect the story afterward in a way that is sometimes not appealing and does not reflect the direction I want to take the story.