I always thought the Privateers were official. Anyways, I've always liked the QCP, they're probably my favourite non-vanilla faction. A clear defined purpose, with motives and goals that flow well with Discoverys story line so much that it begins to influence it. You're not just slapped on top of the game like many other factions. This is just my opinion when I say this, but if we didn't have factions like CR, KoF, Wilde, Phantoms, SCRA, the game would still be the same. But if we didn't have the QCP, things would be completely different.
I haven't had the chance to interact with any QCP yet, but my trader frequents Tau and Kusari, so maybe one day.
I do have a question though. If Bretonia wins the war, what will your faction do then?