Well heres my two pence
I'm not exactly sure how the AI's design their ships, I presume that if you call for a ship to be produced in specific AI state a design will be made to the specifications you have put in the files. So if you specify a non-carrier hull (can you?, well assuming a standard tech tree not the Star trek mod one!) and ask to AI to produce the ships it will design some since it has a valid hull for the design even if it does not have some of the components? Well ok I know very little about this but hey you never know! (please someone dig me out of this hole
)
About the neutral AI not getting enough research (maybe do some of this with intelligence also) what about, aswell as possibly increasing basic facilities, using the new research point ability. You could use this for a neutral only base component (on Defence/Shipyard bases around the homeworld, a nice target for someone to capture aswell!
) and maybe even a satellite componnent.
OR what about removing the natural merchants ability, since they will be in one system only anyway (maybe using thoses point for research?) and making the Neutral's basic Spaceport have research generation.
O.K. enough is enough time to switch myself off again