Remember that tech levels are not indicative of power.
A lot of hangar units that are typically under-appreciated (e.g. Warthogs) are incredibly powerful at what they specifically do (warthogs kill non-phase frigates and destroyers when the carrier isn't maneuverable enough to do so).
It is best to think of hangar units as being an purpose-specific weapon that is vulnerable to normal weapons instead of just EMP.
Broadsword fighters (low) are probably the best anti-shield fighters in the game. Think of them as both anti-shield, but also anti-flux since they deal hard-flux damage. They survive for a while against PD and can shoot down missiles and fighters. They're also fast enough to catch up with bombers, which is great.
Claw fighters (high) are amazing at disabling weapons on larger ships and engines of smaller ships. They are the best non-bomber to bring against larger enemy ships. The best part is that they disable enemy ships "over there," which delays when you have to deal with that big ship, but it also means your bombers can pound them more easily.
Piranha bombers (low) may be the most damaging bomber in the game. Each bomber has a single bomb bay that has 10 bombs. Each bomb deals 400 HE damage (200 to shields, 800 to armor, 400 to hull). There are 3 bombers in a wing, meaning they can deal 12,000 damage per volley. The problem? The bombs are easily dodged by frigates and destroyers. They are absolutely insane damage potential against capitals and stations, which is why those vessels are usually covered in PD. The main penalty is that the bombs are slow.
Talon interceptors (Low) are fantastic at being anti-missile and anti-fighter on the enemy's side while occupying enemy ships' PD such that your missiles avoid being shot down. Since they're dirt cheap on OP, they can be massed on a carrier while allowing the carrier to mount higher OP weapons.
Trident bombers (High) are reliable damage against any ship, but they take a while to come back online. They're slow, cost a ton of OP, and are easily shot down by enemy interceptors. On the bright side, they'll be killing things the entire battle by reliably dumping ~4k damage into a target.
Xyphos fighters (high) are essentially mediocre PD mixed with decent EMP damage to enemy ships. They're great at what they do, and they can disable enemy ships such that the carrier can catch them, but Xyphos fighters are not going to have the same impact that other fighters have. They are very support oriented, and they tend to die against enemy fighters unless the mothership has a lot of PD, which begs the question of why the ship is running Xyphos in the first place. Their real strength is that they can be sent to escort other ships, which, in theory at least, means the ship acting as the vanguard can have a fleet (say 5-10 wings) of xyphos escorting it.
Warthog fighters (low) are the best anti-armor fighters in the game atm. For hangar units, they're slow, but heavily armored; they're limited in range, but very damaging in that range; they're limited in killing fighters and missiles, but they're ship killers. They're faster than frigates, so they'll catch whoever they're chasing.
Wasps (high) are the best standard interceptors. They kill missiles and other hangar units with ease. The problem is that they're made of paper and die en masse against PD. As a result, they're fantastic units to keep on escort, but terrible units to send out to fight enemy ships unless you need to clear enemy hangar units.
Remember, think of the hangar units as a means to complete an objective.
Edit: "Remember that tech levels are not indicative of power."
This applies to the real world.
Most contemporary weapons would be Low Tech since they are based on early 1900's tech.
Most military vehicles and more sophisticated weaponry would be Mid-Line since they're newer, but not new, technologies.
Most experimental or problem-solving military vehicles and weapons would be high-tech. The Stealth Bomber was high tech back in its day. The U.S. fighter that can out-burn a conventional missile and shoot its missiles at enemy planes from beyond visual range would be an example. So would be railguns. All high tech, but not widely used.
Anyway, figured that might be an interesting addendum for some people.