SHFs weren't really skill based, just kind of "slap a cau on there and be useful in battle". Having bomber weaponry means they can fight lighter caps as well, and they were a jack of all trades with no specific strength and no specific weaknesses.
As for why were they nerfed, there are thousands of guesses. Some think it's because having no specific weakness was overpowered, and being all-around useful made it impervious to loss in some way. Others think that all balance can play is VHFs, so they feel the need to make every ship that isn't a VHF into a VHF, or into an easy kill for a VHF. 80-90% of devs are currently holed up in "dev can do no wrong" following changes dating from last patch to years ago, so good luck getting an answer with any meaning from them.
I'll do something about my superiority complex when I cease to be superior.
"Whatever happened to catchin' a good old-fashioned passionate ass-whoopin and gettin' your shoes, coat, and your hat tooken?"
