I would like to suggest that Freighters be stripped of their forward gun hardpoints. Rather, I would suggest that Freighters should only be able to mount turrets. (And their turret arcs be modified to cover all angles of the ship.)
I would also suggest that all freighters recieve a countermeasure hardpoint if they do not have one.
Only certain freighters should also be able to mount cloaking devices. Such as the Grizzly, Voyager, Correo, and Bactrian due to their special roles. The Correo and Bactrian should recieve the ability to mount a bomber torpedo as well as a crise disruptor. The Grizzly should be given dual minelayers and the ability to mount a battleship scanner with no energy penalty. They Voyager should lose its Torpedo hardpoint and gain the ability to mount a Jumpdrive.
Freighter hold size should be increased so they fall somewhere between 400 and 750 units.