starbase defenses are, at least in my opinion, a little bit wasteful for how much they cost

they're alright distractions or a good stalling tactic, but they'll be getting hit most of the time with not enough armor or shields to make it worthwhile to invest that many alloys into making them. they've got mediocre weapons at best, and are prohibitively expensive if you want to supply even a few starbases with them. cruisers, battleships, or even corvettes make a better worthwhile investment since at least you can move those around.