Cool thoughts all.
DesConnor: I like this... LRFs become more like the funtional equivalent of self-propelled artillery: battery ships which are vulnerable to highly mobile, fast raiders because they devote their mass to heavy anti-armor weaponry.
What I'm really intrigued by is your escort-craft mention. Looking for contemporary analagues, I was struck by the similarity to Naval Battle Groups. Would you advocate for a function that links ships into a battle group, where, say, flak & LF can be set to defend their "principals" (Cruizers & Caps) from their preferred targets, and will set that as their top priority?
Psychoseraphk, thinking about your last statement, and merging it with the Battle Group / cap escorts concept:
Suppose a tactical communications network is introduced: each fleet or battle group has ships that generate TacNet points (ex: Caps, command ships, etc..) and ships that draw on it. Total Tacnet Strength = (Tacnet Generated) - (Fleet/Group Tacnet Draw). The TacNet in turn conveys things like targetting or damage bonuses from special abilities ships like the Cielo, Akkan, etc... basically, similar to what an AWACS or Aegis cruiser does for its "fleet" in real life. If you added more of these abilities (perhaps via the mentioned researchable cap ship upgrades?), this could be substantial.
The result of this would be an incentive to produce a fleet of balanced size, with sufficient command, support, & cap ships to create a viable tacnet. SPAMing LRFs etc. would certainly remain an strategy some would use, but a more compact, diverse fleet would have greater combat power / ship.
What do you think?
I struck me this might combine well with your espionage ship concept: if each ship had a "signature" rating, you could have a "recon" ship: a scout with very low signature, hence able to loiter invisible to most detection. Ships' targeting would be affected by signature, so a Tacnet with ships with good sensors would be more able to detect and accurately target enemies. A recon ship like that might bring some unusual abilities to the table.