Wolf is solid, but hurt by poor range and somewhat limited firepower (when compared to more elite frigates). It does not excel at any one task. Tier 3 seems about right. Its ship system is very good and saves it from mediocrity; without it, Wolf would be tier 4.
Tempest is a very good ship. It ties with the Hound as the fastest ship in the game, has good firepower for its class, and has an excellent ship system. AI uses it very well. Player needs good twitch skills to use Tempest to its potential. It outperforms all other standard frigates except player controlled Hyperion. Before 0.65, player could solo defense fleets with a Tempest. Its only weakness is poor shot range, which its speed can mitigate. Thanks to terminator drone and high speed, PD is not that important for Tempest.
Hyperion is a class of its own when used by player. With the right skills and configuration, Hyperion can solo all but the largest bounty fleets on its own. Without Hyperion, you need at least a cruiser to solo fleets with an Combat 10 enemy flagship capital. In AI hands, it can capture points on the map much faster than any other ship, and it is competent enough to fight and not die if you configure it right (which may require skill unlocks). AI plays the Hyperion a bit too conservatively. You cannot rely on AI piloted Hyperion to dominate and destroy fleets. You rely on AI Hyperion to capture points immediately and not die while in combat, which it usually does.
Hound... without a shield, it is almost hard-countered by long-range beams and missiles. If the enemy does not have beams or if the player patched the weaknesses with the best weapons and hullmods, Hound is usable but still weak when compared to other frigates, despite being one of the fastest.
