1 - Nephs are Colony ships, outfitted to defend the colonies they hold. That's the lore. I'm not in favor of removing them, but i am in favor of lessening the amount of damage they can inflict, cause you're right - it doesn't match the lore that they are COLONY ships, not battleships. Carriers - I personally view them as more jumpships/cargo ships/etc. not the beast that say the liberty Carrier is. So I agree there as well. Zoners have them, but not for offensive operations in my mind (hell the model has a snub and a transport included in the hanger bay). The Leviathan is, by it's lore, an alien ship that Zoners don't fully understand, but built the neph's based off the technology found. Not for war, but for colony ships and to defend themselves.
2 - I do agree with you, that living in the Omicrons is dangerous. I agree that Zoners should defend themselves. I agree that they would go "Alright, enough is enough. Anyone attacking Zoners is going to get retaliated against". Perfectly acceptable. Just that line of blanket "can attack anyone" worries me. Zoners should and can defend themselves, but I agree they don't have need for a "BATTLEship" equipped for war.
I will state though that I had a chat with Spazzy, and I better understand why they added the line. My worry is the fact that it is very exploitable (Though as Spazzy pointed out, anything can be exploitable). Anyway, we'll see how it plays out. I am though glad it's bringing activity and you do get to see Zoners as not just pacifists but willing to stand their ground.