Is the engine kill from cruise rule required?

[Archelon]

Ok - my 2 cents. Get rid of this rule. It does nothing but give someone a reason to take screen shots and scream in the forums. Shield running too.

Engine kills while in cruise is a tactic, plain and simple. You either learn to use it or you don't. You could jump to cruise, circle around to your enemy's back and kill engines (yes - giving you an advantage). But your opponent has the same ability. Smaller ships are more maneuverable than larger ships, but the balance is in the size of the shield - the bigger the ship, the harder to kill - balance is built in on uneven ship classes. For the case where two ships are of even size, they both have similar capabilities and again the argument is mute. I've used cruise in an attempt to escape, my enemy pursued me in cruise. He killed engines (both of us flying straight and level) and fired his fully CODENAME loaded fighter on me - I died. Is this illegal? I say no. He used a tactic to catch me and I got caught in chat (my fault for not paying attention).

Shield running? Ridiculous rule. You only have so many bats/bots on board. Shield running is a tactic to get some shield back. Again - a tactic. Normally gets defeated with CDs and eventually the first guy or gal who uses up all his or her bats/bots ends up dead. Balance is in tact since both players can do the same.

[SARCASM]
Ok - if we are going to keep these rules, maybe we should address odds. If you are a lone fighter up against three or four other fighters, or maybe a couple cap ships, you don't have much of a chance to survive. All you can do is attempt to fight or run (fight or flight). You try to run and you get accused of shield running. "Get the screen shot so we can report him!" Should we create a new rule that limits the number of combatants against a lone fighter?
[/SARCASM]

I hope you noted the sarcasm above, but at the same time get my point. Most rules make since (like level 30 and level 40 rules, Neutral and Freelancer ID rules, etc). But these two rules make no since to me. Balance is in the ability of the pilot to execute these maneuvers, nothing else. As Korrd said above, the only thing right now that determines the winner is the size of the gun. I say lets even the odds against the big guns. Lets even the odds of the lone fighter who's outnumbered.

EDIT: An aside - might want to also address F1 while traversing a jumpgate or jumphole. This is a flaw in the game code, not a tactic. F1 while traversing a jumpgate or jumphole slingshots a player to the far side of the system he / she's entering (extending the range between them and their pursuer).