the defender class...META-X defender is the rare ship fro draconis, this means ofcourse that the armor is gonna be stronger depending on the system, its tactical uses can be good when grinding in 1 area due to your attack turrets(these will be timed as it is a ability like the others) this can be used tacticaly to attack over a wide area, the mines are good for defending your area from reds if you are red to(this will help to ''defend yourself''.
this will not be a chase ship but what id say is possible is that repair turrets can be placed stategicaly so that u can go back to them if in trouble, this will help to keep you alive.
think of the defender class as a set of turrets,repair nodes,mines and bulk, u have a bomb bunker right there.
just thought id meansion, me and pazza killed a level 70 draconis storm with both armors and full zp power bp's lastnight, they arnt all that strong.