Buffalo Mk II can work, but it's hard to pull off. The main body of the fleet has to be slower than them, so they can be protected from the enemy, and it doesn't work very well when outnumbered (seeing how that is the default state when fighting in the campaign, it's understandably hard).
Venture isn't bad, per se, because it's ratio of value to price is acceptable, it's just that when you slow down to cruiser speed, you might as well grab something that's actually worth slowing down instead of Venture.
Shrike isn't bad either, just not very capable. Shrike (P) is an acceptable light destroyer, though, despite nominally being a downgrade.
Condor is terrible, though. Perhaps my perspective is somewhat biased towards the tournament environment, but Condor just doesn't have anything going for it. It ceases to be a choice, if there's anything else present, bar Colossus Mk III (which is more of a troop transport anyway!). It's near the bottom when it comes to non-fighter capabilities, fighter capabilities, survivability, campaign utility. The only thing going for it is spamming salamanders, being the cheapest carrier in absolute price and destroyer burn level. If it was 8 maintenance, it could be acceptable.