I think that the problem with this whole thing is that there will always be the "best" meta. There's always going to be a particular build, or certain ship, or right strategy that is the current most effective one. Right now, that's the Gatling/Morter Pyramidion, because the combination of easy to learn, easy to fly and easy to kill with makes it the simplest, quickest thing for new players to learn. And it's wishful thinking to want players to intentionally hobble themselves just to make things more "interesting." I'd lay money that most of the people who fly the current meta either figured it out themselves or noticed how well it worked against them. They saw what was good, and they want to win. Who can blame them?
Does this mean I'm not sick to death of flying with/on/against Gat/Mortar Pyras? Absolutely not. It's to the point where I'm tempted to leave the lobby if my captain switches to Pyra, or that I take captain myself (which I don't like doing unless I know my crew well) just so I can switch to something else. But, even if all our dreams come true and something happens to reduce the attractiveness of that setup ... there will emerge some other combination that people will latch onto. I mean, any ship that can pull off Gat/Mortar is a problem. The Junker, the Pyra, the Mobula...they can all kill things very fast.
I'd love for something a little more fun to fight against, yeah, but we're always going to be stuck with some sort of metagame.
P.S. Zenark, I'd love to fly with you sometime- it sounds like a blast. :3