[dogscoff]

I found a good use for drones: I was up against an enemy that was sending carriers after an isolated outpost. I designed a cheap, slow PD drone and threw a few of them out whenever I saw an enemy carrier approaching. They would engage the carrier and wipe out loads of fighters before the carrier got to my planet.

I think the real advantage of drones will be in games where there is a long peace-time build up. A player can stockpile drones in peace time without paying the maintenence of ships (With none of that low-fat mothballing malarky.) This will prove handy for small empires.

The other advantage is that you can stockpile a huge attack capability and your allies won't be able to see it like they could if you had a mothballed attack fleet sitting in orbit of your homeworld.