For me the Engineers are simply the ships I like to fly the most. I got never really happy with the various types of ships in the fighter class. Not to speak of the small and swift interceptors, they are simply not for me. I do not like the sniper figates much nor the slow guard frigates. I never wanted that over-mighty kill all ship, neigther. I like the swift frigates, the Engineers and their healing drones. Girl I loved them right from the start after buying my first one, the Federation frigate Raptor. For that alone I loved Star Conflict so much, the idea that drones were flying around your ship, healing and protecting it, and even attacking an opponent in reach! That alone was a very very good design and development idea!
I could argue that I always had a slow CPU and a low-end graphics-card, together with average to bad ping, but that would not really tell the hole story. Some players simply hate to fly a frigate, they would call it was to fly a brick or other ugly speach against my beloved Engineers, but thats not me! Girl I like them!
My various engineers, then, got me through all the baby steps of Star Conflict. Together, equipped with a warp gate, we discovered all the sectors in open space, when the relationship between me and Star Conflict was young. They hade the biggest inventory storage capacity. Their ring of drones felt like a veil of valor to me, and I was sure I could help out any one in the cold and black open who would be in dire need of some energy, shields or hull, and make friends by this way.
Before I learned it that I could switch station for 80k credits I flew with a proudly bought golden premium engineer, the r12 Polus to see them all, station Mendes IX, New Haven and Guardian 17 (needed some attempts and duplicators the first time).
In times I wanted my first destroyer I sampled rocks and containers in open space and discovered the mysterious container sites with a marvelous respwan of 60s, all with my Engineers. I used a tackler for that too, but that to me was not really flying a space ship, this was rather cowardly hiding and fleeing than proudfully exploring nearly empty space. In times I dreamed of the special project ship Octopus to have some day, because it has 3 drones. I was so proud to have it, I did my first 3-color paint job including tag on it.
But these days are over now, and many have their own private coming of age in SC in other ships and ship-classes, or were game-mature even far before and more quickly.
So what is all left? I protect destroyers of my pvp team from overconfident interceptor and fighter pilots flying in wiggling line up to them, bringing them all down. Rank 8 Phoenix and rank 15 Octopus are my favorites. I can tank in situations my comrades got themselves in the line of fire just by placing me in front of them. My engis are quick and even capture beacons from time to time. I can protect the dreadnaught and even launch an counter attack in reasonable time with my engineer. I do no longer fly into open space with them because my engineers are too slow for the aliens to outrun. They are to less tanky to withstand the bombardment of homing green fireballs in the open or behind cover, too. But today, that even is so for the once mighty destroyer class. with the formerly reasonable swift r11 Antares. Silver engineers are too less of a support in PvP because of the steadily increasing dps of all the other ships, you have a point here. But don’t underestimate them. A good Styx pilot can dominate a game and do astounding thing in a battle. Engineers are meant to support not to - as Kosty said - out heal all the damage taken in your team in a very short time.
The spaceship I fly in open space, pvp and pve, now, is mostly the Ellydium frigate:engineer Waz’Got, but you suggested this ship was out of the discussion. (I call my wazzi baby Waltzing Mathilda, and that cute she is!) 
