Fighters fighters fighters

[bbq]

Yet another newbie question from me. Thanks for putting up with me guys.

For those of you who use carriers, how many units of fighters do you launch at a time? I always end up launching as many as I can, but the computer sometimes send them out in odd Groups. Is there any advantage of smaller squad over large ones or vice versa?

Also, I am finding that using fighters is an expensive long term tactics. If you rely on normal worships, when they suffer damage you can repair or retreat them to fight another day. But fighters don't have that option. So you launch a swarm of 200 fighters, killed several Battleships but your fighters force is now halfed because of attrition. And then there is the research you are spending on carriers and those fighter components. Also, fighters are easily countered by point defenses. If each ship you are attacking has a balanced mix of offensive weapons and point defenses (and most smart players probably see to this), you might as well leave your fighters home. Lastly, perhaps the harshest thing is that since fighters come in stacks, one big enemy ship weapon can destroy MULTIPLE fighters. Regular ships suffer from no such penalty. The only up side I see is that fighters require no maintenance (carriers do of course).

So I am finding that I tend to lean further and further toward warships that in general seem more flexible. What are your thoughts?