Battleship thrusters

[NonSequitor]

This is the way I understand it:

BS = 1 player

bomber = 1 player

Basically, the odds are always set against the side with lesser numbers. So if 1 BS player runs into 4 bombers (each controlled by 1 player), it's considered reasonable that the BS gets blown to tiny, tiny pixels. Most folks wouldn't like having a vessel in game, controlled by 1 player, that was capable of consistantly wiping out multiple opponents with ease.

If BSes were buffed somehow into the avatar of doom that they would most likely be, you'd need considerable more snub craft to take one out.

There are other schools of thought, as you have already noticed, that appeal to relatively amorphous concepts like "BSes need escorts, cuz the people with the cool signatures said so", "BSes are for weenies who can't PvP in anything smaller" and "You need fine-tuned RP skills in order to handle the immense responsibility needed to pilot a BS".

But I think the real reason is related to gameplay.