Fire Control Tower is more effective than puny Command Corvettes. In the later missions in the SP campaign, I had FCT-equipped battlecruisers leading my fleet, greatly increasing their effectiveness. Enemy fighters were no match for my five destroyers as a result
I just played a silly game, though: 5v1 compstomp - and the computer was set to easy. Three humans, three AI. One human guy launched a fighter strike, which I promptly supported by hypering in a CV full of bombers and torpedo frigates paused just short of completion.
A pair of enemy carriers tried running, but I disabled their engines. A few passes later and they were toast, meanwhile my frigates were nicely making holes in the Mothership's armor.
OTOH, in another MP game I played I got badly owned. I had a few frigates out by the time the enemy had a pair of DDs and an escort screen.