I like fighting in this game. As a result I like to fight a lot.
Having long fights is better than short fights, as the total amount of combat increases. Removing bots and batts would mean the total amount of time I have to enjoy a fight is reduced. Do not remove bots and batts.
On to the eagle. Honestly? It does fine for me. Just fly it in a totally different style to most other VHFs. (In other words, it's the only VHF I feel comfortable using a CD with.)
It's pretty big, but you can get a lot out of it regardless. It's not as good as the the wraith or sabre, but those are two massively overpowered ships, particularly when you add 5.88 refire guns to that.
Discovery balance is based on how loud the crying is. If you have a group of people who regularly face an overpowered ship, but man up and just deal with it, then nothing happens.
If you have a group of people who regularly face a fairly average ship, but cry about it being overpowered, or their own gear being underpowered, then you end up with average gear randomly getting nerfed, or already good equipment getting buffed in order to appease the complainers.
That coupled with an unyeilding addiction to numbers and theory rather than what actually happens in game and a stubborn refusal to change anything when actually proven wrong, are what causes disco balance to be a little off.
Frankly, even with those highly annoying balance traits, the game is pretty playable. It's more balanced than vanilla was, where essentially you had a choice of eagles with tizzies and nom blasters, or losing.