Honestly, I did the math; ballistics are still longer-ranged than comparably sized energy weapons on DME hulls with the nerf. It's just harder to abuse that last 1-300 SU at the end to be invincible or win without a challenge thanks to your speed. I think the inevitable range cut to ballistic PD is acceptable given the evident power of flak and machine guns.
I will note that in compensation, I bumped up a few ship speeds where I thought they needed it, and that there are still plenty of valid reasons to put ballistics in those slots. Howlers are still great at punching holes in armor, Rail Accelerators still deliver great single-shot damage. I may tweak a few DME ballistics here and there to ensure they're still compelling picks, but the change feels really good to me and pushes the faction in the direction I want.