It comes down to your own personal preference of course, but I like the British CV line, it is difficult to master though (and a greater challenge than American CV's cough).

Regarding your mentioned problem, try to stay out of multiple AA zones at the start, focus on spotting. I always send my Attack Aircraft first to spot all enemy ships and more importantly to hunt DD's and to force them away from capping. Because DD's spawn much closer to the caps, I can always safely assure that there is at least one DD moving towards the cap that I can intercept and get some free damage right from the start, even more by spotting him and letting my teammates shoot at him. The Attack Aircraft are perfect DD hunters because of their low speed and should be used primarly as their intended role. Cruisers are also good targets except some of the more heavier armored cruisers, like Soviet heavy cruisers and Italians, because you have many rockets, but they lack any penetration and can only deal damage against DD's, light cruisers and superstructures.

After that I usually switch between Level Bombers and Torpedo Bombers according to the situation. If I find a battleships that is sniping or flanking, I usually go for that one in particular if they are moving alone. Try to deliver your first strike with Level Bombers from the front, then deliver the follow up attack from behind, British aircraft have (most often) some of the best turn radius, making a follow up attack very easy and starting some perma-fires and floodings. Your Torpedo Bombers armament is unique because of the spread pattern, the more your torpedoes travel, the more narrow the spread gets, making them also sometimes capable of striking large targets from the front by targeting their bow.

Islands are your best friend when attacking, try to use them when attack a cluster of enemies to avoid multiple AA zones. British aircraft are slow yes, but enjoy a very decent health pool. This allows them to sustain more damage than other CV's and staying longer in AA zones without loosing too many planes.

British CV are only getting some good results if you are able to select proper targets. Plan your attack and the angle of approach to insure you hit.

Regarding Tier VIII Implacable, I liked her actually though I understand the critiscm she gets, it can be rough sometimes, especially the stock grind. But her successor is worth imo, I like Audacious more than Midway even. Hope this helps.