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I think I would want to protect my hand on the turn.

SGS

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In general this would be the right play. But there are two key variables here that I believe makes checking the turn much better than betting.

1) The lag on the heros left will bet this turn with many hands he probably wouldnt call with.

2) There is only 1.5BB in this pot. In this kind of extreme small pot, protecting the hero's hand should be a secondary concern, the chief concern for the hero is finding the best strategy that may squeeze out an extra big bet or two from his opponents.

In very small pots like this, finding a way to win an extra big bet or two is actually more important than winning the pot itself. With a lag player in the pot that will likely bluff this turn given the fact that everybody showed weakness on the flop, the hero has the perfect traping hand, top pair. So checking in this situation is much better than betting IMO

Sometimes this strategy will backfire and it will get checked around and something like an ace will hit the river and the hero will lose the pot, but since the pot is very small, the reward of winning a few extra big bets far outweighs the risk of losing the pot.