This is too accurate. If someone asks me for directions and we are going a similar way I will of course give them directions but also stay visibly nearby just in case they need more help and so they know I am sort of with them (I am a small woman and definitely not a presence anyone would perceive as menacing). I don't try and chat or make friends but I do feel a protective instinct to watch over this stranger and not allow them to feel alone and lost, or miss their stop. Kind, but not nice. Never thought of my behavior this way but it's true.