Hmm, regarding armor tanking - I guess that depends on exactly what you mean by it. The AI absolutely will take some hits on armor, even when flux isn't maxed, and will do this more for kinetic damage. It'll also vent in the face of weaker firepower, which is effectively exchanging flux for armor.
So I think... well, it won't armor tank as a dedicated strategy, right. But at the same time, it'll also make reasonable use of armor, just not in an aggressive, committed "I will use it to win the flux war and this duel" sort of way. Generally speaking, those kinds of committed decisions are hard for the AI to do well (you have to reliably predict that not only will you "win" the next few seconds, but that you'll also be able to capitalize on it!), and I think are usually best left in the hands of the player. To facilitate this, there's a new "Shield Shunt" hullmod - it has a low OP cost, removes shields, and grants bonus EMP resistance.
(There's also an Industry skill that gives ships armor and survivability related bonuses based on the number of d-mods they have, but that's a bit separate...)