The mace is marked "one creature" whereas most other monsters say "one target", implying thugs aren't capable of destroying objects with their mace

Their beefy HP really annoys me. I always want to throw four of them at a low level party, but it's always an absolute slog. Mace seems a bit vicious too. Image a common street thug busting people to bits with battle ready maces. I think 5GP would be a proper investment for someone who relies on beating people for money, let alone a 50GP HEAVY CROSSBOW!? I think I'm gonna go and fix these boys. 

Relux_the_Relux, FlutterRodButter and others make fair points, but whenever I run them, it's always a hit point slog, and the fact that their weapons and gear are so expensive is just incorrect when we are referring to poor brutes with no money. 

What?! It has an offensive CR of 1. How is that weak for a CR 1/2?

The health is a little high, but I do like the crossbow. I would maybe put in a dagger or shortsword instead of a mace, though.

To be fair, a lot of combat at 1st level is more luck than anything. If the characters move first, they can often nuke an enemy or two before they ever get a turn, but the reverse can also be true. Same for attack rolls, where one miss could be the difference between eliminating an enemy or dying to the counterattack yourself. While I agree this is a bit much for a 1st level party, I think that has more to do with 1st level just being... really rough to balance and make interesting without the serious possibility of everything going horibly wrong.

I used these stats to put Alvida from one piece into my game. When they met her, my players decided to betray the guy they've been sailing with and the party wizard helped her kill him.

Pairing this with 1 Bandit captain and 3 Bandits. So the Encounter will be 1 BC 2 T and 3 B. Though i am lowering its health and slightly increasing its AC.

Could I change his HP