Freighters cannot complete with Large transports like the Adv. Train and the Barge. They're simply superior because most want to make as much money as fast as possible regardless of the risks.
Since their cargo spaces arent likely to be buffed why not buff their armaments to make them mini gunships as they were in Vanilla?
freighters are cool, I love them. CSF is my child. once I collected all of them. but you know...
they are useless... apart from being first trade ships for newbies, they don't have a practical purpose.
too small to be real trade ships,
too slow to be fighters,
too weak to be a threat.
As a Junker I love pottering about in my freighter & did 90% of my mapping in a CSV &/or CSF.
I have done more piracy in a CSF (Correo or Bactrian) than in any other ship & probably flown a CSF/TRF more than any other ship.
As Dodike pointed out, Freighters are jack-of-all-trade ships & therefore excellent RP vessels.
But I do agree on frequency - Freighters tend to be flown by players new to Disco & that is a shame.
Clearly who ever needs a buff here wants to trade with them and nothing more. I've mostly pirated and smuggled for fun in them, and they are better for pirating then fighters.
The point of this ship as that with its "500" cargo space it can outrun any transport,gunboat and up, making it perfect small cargo vessel for specific operations.
Ofc if you want to buff them to get some purpose of being high and mighty (and I managed with 2 droms take down gunboat, and with 2 drom take out cap6 shire) you won't get nothing special. They still won't be used except by people who like them. Same with light and heavy fighters. Having fun in flying particular ships doesn't mean it should be uber and kill everything. I say this as a player who owns currently 3 freighters (and I tried most of them in game if not all), and as I player who generally like to experiment with ships being it lf to something bigger. Every ship has its purpose, but people are looking for only one purpose from every ship, to kill all players he meets in game. Doesn't work that way.
Now make a freighter and go have fun, or tits, or gtfo.