Do you recall Todd Howard's statement saying that "Fallout 4" gives gamers the choice of not taking a violent approach to wasteland life? Maybe not completely avoiding bloodshed, but one where you can steer away from killing a lot. It turns out that this statement of his wasn't a joke, however, he is not entirely right either. As what Kyle Hinckley demonstrated in his multiple YouTube video series, you can really get through "Fallout 4" Survival mode, without taking away a single life.
But that does not mean that the lives are completely saved. It's just that Hinckley's own conscience is saved as he convinces the others to do all the dirty work for him. This simply means that during the entire game, his hands stay clean technically as his companions do all the killings.
However, given that "Fallout 4" encourages players into killing, and the players' companions tend to be quicker on the trigger, it's safe to say that the compromise is pretty fair. Also, the ultimate goal in this process is not to entirely avoid death, but just to stay away from doing it yourself. However, he may have had to blow holes into stuff during the entire game.
Furthermore, even though Howard promised increased freedom in players, Hinckley said that it is still quite disappointing that the game lacks diplomatic solutions, which sets it apart from the series' previous version. Hinckley's play type isn't actually diplomatic, it is just an exploitative activity towards the game mechanics for the sole purpose of achieving a zero kill "Fallout 4" record. Furthermore, it was stated that in previous "Fallout" games there have been many alternatives for players to bypass combats. There were sneaking as well as speech checks. Opened back doors with hacking and lockpicking were also possible.
In Hinckley's last video, the claims for the "zero kills record" has been proven, but do keep in mind that spoilers are present in the video series. So if you don't mind the spoilers, go ahead and watch the said video.