There are three important groups of ships: my personal ship, the ships in my fleet, and the ships of my enemies. The same ship model could be optimal for all three, but probably is not.Triaxx2 wrote:I left out the Xenon because they require capturing, but all true.
The recommendation for TM can be generalized to: Never swim alone!
On TC and AP this is easiest to achieve with TM. On X2 and X3R a TL did the trick. A moving base/storage and vessels of your own. You don't have to travel the galaxy alone like we did three decades ago with Cobra Mk III.
A fleet might not solve all quests, but it can save some battles. Fleet is also entirely different challenge than being solo top gun.
The OP question involves the enemy. If I would know (remember) whether and (if yes) what kind of enemies/tasks the plot offers, then I would probably recommend personal ships that are strong on the features that "optimize the odds" against those enemies/errands.
We have not gone into specifics, and therefore it is IMHO better to cover both potential allies and enemies.
The plots are in general aimed for "instant gratification", with little legwork required. In fact, some missions are "out of focus" with "too much hardware". As example, X3R plot had a chase inside Asteroid -- sitting in a Destroyer was not a way to take it.