I think that most of this is... "fine" opinions, in that a lot of the ships listed are more matters of taste than of actual raw performance (especially when you're inexperienced, where you'll mostly find that the ships you happen to take better to are the ones you get the most out of barring really strong stuff), but I'll note that the Shrike, Venture, Lasher, Shepherd, and Ziggurat are all ratings I strongly disagree with.
Shrike - In AI hands, a bit too suicidal to be ideal, for sure. But with an experienced player and a good fit, it can punch miles above its deployment weight, even compared to other ships in player hands, and especially considering its relatively easy availability in the earlygame.
Shepherd - Really doesn't deserve to be relegated to C-Tier just because it's not exceptional lategame. Earlygame, it's incredibly cheap, efficient, reliable, the drones are a deceptively handy support to keep shield pressure so the AI makes riskier decisions, and it's just all-around a handy pick.
Lasher - Impressively tough for its size and can dish out some NASTY ballistic firepower. I'd honestly say it's about on par with a wolf if you're using it well, the wolf is just going to be easier to get the most out of thanks to the AI having easy options to escape.
Venture - Yeah, it's never going to be the best brawler. Its killing power on its own is pretty poor at the best of times. But it is an absolutely insane brick. You can absolutely make it into a cheaply-deployed unkillable anchor with armour-per-section comparable to or even exceeding an Onslaught (keep in mind that while it may have a lower base value, it's spread over a smaller area, so it can reach some NASTY values), and it'll eat an ungodly amount of fire without breaking a sweat.
Ziggurat - Honestly, this one's purely a matter of skill. The motes can be immensely dangerous once you get good at using them; it just takes a bit of practice. The armament is also plenty powerful, and the phasing can be used to great advantage if you pilot phase ships more (and, moreover, if you pilot them and play them more directly, rather than playing them 100% around their systems - it'll make it much easier to learn how to use PHASE rather than the specific ships).
Oh, also the Gemini isn't "civilian-turned-military" - Venture is a rugged civilian ship designed to hold up acceptably in a fight, so its inclusion is fair enough, but the Gemini flight deck is frankly just a defensive asset, not something that makes it a carrier.