I am exploring the Desert and see 2 NPCs trying to pull someone out from the sand..presumably stuck in quick sand while one NPC holds a torch to fight any possible enemies back. 

Now, my suggestion is to let us be able to help the NPC out from the sand... this is just one option

There could be other random NPC events to run into to help..  maybe an NPC is in the desert got lost and is so dehydrated and needs water.. and with this new zone being snow, NPC is freezing to death..build a campfire for them..

most of the "random" npc's found in the world are tied to some type of quest. 

changing the state they are in is dangerous because each character on your account has their own questline. 

if they allowed the manipulation of the world NPC's, it would open a new can of worms.