[Q]

I am not sure if I understood this correctly:
You are saying that the strategy "maximum weapons range" is overridden if the ship faces fighters and has PDC. Then it will move into PDC range.

That's something I have never experienced and I made a small test with an attacking ship that has anti proton beam and PDC against a group of ships and fighters. The attacking ship stayed at maximum distance (= range of the anti proton beam) and never came to use its PDC.