I think a big problem for carriers, especially against Remnant fleets, is the bigger penalty to hitting enemies with the wrong weapon type. Explosive is much less effective against shields if the target's officer has the matching skill. Problem is that the attack timing of bombers and Longbows is too different to hit at the same time (usually my Longbows hit several seconds after the torpedoes) and you can't influence fighters enough to synchronize their strikes. Against Remnants my torpedoes hit their shields, cause barely any flux, then the kinetics hit and overload the target but by the time the bombers have reloaded and returned the overload has ended.
Also I'm currently early-midgame, driving an Astral I found and salvaged but my fleet also contains a Venture and two Shepherds for exploration and salvage duty which add to my hangar bay count for little to no gain. If I had Tempests it would be the same, diluting the skill with ships that aren't really part of a carrier force but technically count as carriers. Maybe it should be tied to the total OP of your fighters instead of the bay count so it doesn't emphasize using the most advanced fighters all the time?