[Suicide Junkie]

If the object you launch has illegal cargo, but itself is not illegal, then you are OK to carry it on your ship.

Fighters are indeed quite handy as decoys; launch one, tell it to attack, and then run away while the enemies are distracted.
Such a strategy works far better in a mod like P&Nism, than th estock game, since fighters can actually survive for a while.

Also, note that you can launch just about anything you like if you have the appropriate mod.
You could for example, squeeze a whole carrier out of a launch bay. The Carrier would then proceed to launch its own fighters, and you could order the carrier to attack/retreat/etc

It would look quite silly, unless it were to be a space station or other huge object launching the ships, of course.