[Noble713]

Sats: These are excellent quickie warp point defenses. Send a transport or two loaded with 'em and they can make a mess. I never use them for planetary defense though, as they tend be positioned poorly and the AI smashes the planet without taking them out.

Bases: Defense bases are only useful if you are on the defense and need to keep the comp out of your territory. I've only had one game where this was the case, and 4 space stations with DUCs proved to be a formidable early/mid-game warp point defense. With the AI in its current state, however, it is rare to not be on the offensive smashing through its systems, which of course makes fixed defenses unnecessary.