I also think it could be cool to have a mothership with minimal armament but have small fighters be released and they are what attacks so you still have the Sim-Speed advantage.
Viewing post in The Galactic Line
Sure, I had fighters in the video! I didn't really talk about them much, but small ships certainly exist!
One issue with fighters is simple: losing a crew member is generally pretty bleak. These aren't nameless numbers, they have names and interact with each other. I might make some kind of slightly magical skinsuit or super-hardy cockpit or something...