^ True, but I also think that is because the AI in that case would- in theory- be aware of its anti-fighter potential and speed in order to even be able to back-pedal and perform that tactic. That is more of a player thing to set them apart and provide the skill = power concept. That is mostly because then- in return- the AI would also have to know when that is not the case; like when a vessel is slower or has less anti-fighter potential- resulting in that tactic being detrimental. So, it's kind of the "specific case vs general case" AI quandry coming into effect there.
Myself, I would rather the AI perform the "assumed case" of fighters and missiles being handled by PD and therefore leave the player the incentive to ensure that is actually true (so the player is still in control and adapts through learning that PD is important). Then, like in the case of Aggressive officers granting ships a greater ability to ignore danger under player specifications, give Timid/Cautious officers the ability to "assume the worst" and perform the current timid behavior around fighters and missiles for specific ships that would actually have that weakness but could provide support in other ways- and then let the player do the math in between.
The thing about phase ships in particular that I personally think brings out the issue of a base-timid AI is that those types of vessels are inherently assumed to be alpha-strike warships that utilize speed and increased relative time manipulation through phase cloak to close-in and deal high upfront burst damage at the cost of reduced defensive measures- other than the same drawn-upon resource pool as said alpha strike(flux)- to evade (rather than mitigate) damage as a unique mechanic.
The point is, at some point they have to commit and utilize their assumed alpha-strike potential to overwhelm their opponent and deal a crippling- if not killing- blow. They seem to do this very well in a fleet scenario with allies flanking and having a positional advantage, but are unwilling to do this at even odds that could potentially risk the destruction of an expensive vessel.
But, it is in those very situations that phase ships feel underwhelming because they often fail to take advantage of their alpha-strike strength and only bait the AI into acting defensively to their
relative positions on the battlefield. It's not always a bad thing, but it can at times make phase ships feel underwhelming in a fair fight. I would rather that alpha-strike power be felt and occasionally curse my luck that a phase ship couldn't get away with its phase evasion over mostly never (but still sometimes!) losing one but rarely seeing its power. (As a concept rather than an actual example. Fair fights aren't particularly common so experiences probably vary greatly from player to player in that regard.)