How about going a different route?
Rather than iterate over Drox and its shortcomings, why not try something different?
I would like to point you Shadow to S.P.A.Z. 1 as an example.
This could be a Drox mothership with extendable modules and fighters and fleets, with tech research and upgrades, instead of a Diablo in space
Might be a good idea to drop/mine mostly resources and refine them into useful stuff for a change.