In the late game, I generally use them in warp point defense. In combination with satellites, they can do an outstanding job against against any fleet. At a warp point, they will be very close to the enemy ships and some stacks will fire before moving, avoiding PD completely. Those that move will take hits, but not nearly the intensity you see in frontal assaults.
If you must attack, give your carriers weapons and an attack strategy. They will then move toward the enemy along with the fighters, releasing more fighters all the while. Makes for a massive assault, instead of the small waves of fighters you get with a retreating carrier. If you're playing tactical mode, you can set up the massive assault manually.
Re: Need help using fighters
Threaded Mode