I would also like to point out that in SE III. Phased Poloron beams had a counter in addition to Phased Shields.
Emissive Armor.
You pretty much slapped on at least one component of EA to counter Poloron Beams and reduce the effectiveness of several other weapons.
To get around EA you needed Heavier Weapons to rip through it. I rather enjoyed the dynamic.
However with weapon mounts in SE IV pretty much negate the effectiveness of EA with just about every weapon.
Just my thoughts.