Not sure where the Aurora's from but to both the defensive use of mobile fleet bases, and said bases looking like warships, I have the same reference answer.
David Weber's CLACs.
Built around the same basic hull design as a Super Dreadnaught, they trade port and starboard weapon bays for
LAC hangers.
The CLAC's are typically used for offensive purposes, true. But, they also serve to transport hyperspace-incapable LAC's from system to system for a rapid reinforcement of an underfended target, carry defensive/counter-offense LAC forces with fleets, wherever they might be needed, and can transport them en masse to patrol/search-and-rescue/mobile sentry points very quickly, in situations where a hyper-capable vessel is too big, expensive, important, or uncommon to due the job in a proper and timely manner.
They also beat general bulk transports beacause they keep the LAC's combat ready, in case of a suprise attack/ambush.
Oh. Wait. I just realised I misinterpeted your question/point about FTL limitations. Well, I like what I've written, so if it's oay with folks, I'll leave it in.
What precisely do we use for FTL tech? Specifically, are there size/mass limitations? If we can't fit it on something the size of a fighter, or it takes up a prohibitive amount of room when coupled with dedicated power systems and safeguards or supplementary systems, or it specifically covers a mass range, it seems practical to create a massive FTL carrier with smaller, FTL-incapable, parasite ships for flexibility and in-system work, ala
We Few, of the
Empire of Man series.
More importantly, since we're drawing on multiple fandoms for people, tech, magic, places, and more then likely variations in the laws of physics, what if we have multiple methods of FTL? We have Robotech fold-drives, should we need to swap our ship (and anything around us) with some other point in space, Halo Slipspace drives if we want to FTL out of planetary atmo (causing a fair amount of damage as we go), Honor-verse impeller wedges and Warshawski sails to give us a trifecta of gravity-based shielding, speedy propulsion, and an additional method of dumping inertia so we don't go pancake. There are Star Wars hyperdrives for stable, safe travel and well-known interdiction capabilities (and accompanying tactical options, see Thrawn and X-Wing novels for details), Battlestar Galactica FTL for odd, semi-instant, accurate jumps, fold drives, tunnel drives, portal drives, wormholes, Stargates, warp gates, teleport networks, teraports, magic based jump systems, that Warhammer 40K Warp-Storm thing, and many more besides.
There are all sorts of options and tactical/strategic possibilities if we start mixing and matching various methods, not to mention sundry associated systems and technologies each fandom develops. Plus, this doesn't even consider what we can do to dance around whatever methods YAOI and CANON use, either with improved vesions of their method, interdiction tactics, tech and techniques from other methods, or just the difference(s) between our two preferred methods.
Maybe we could alternate between jump tech depending on the nature of the trip or mission. Hell, maybe their so wildly different that we can trigger one system inside a different one. Unlikely, but fun to contemplate, and technically possible if you get into relativity and the possibilities/problems brought up by our integration of clearly different or distorted rules of physics, magic and reality from different anime and fandoms. Just for an example, AT Field vs. Shinagami.
Whoops. Got away from me again. Oh, and Bluepencil? Yeah. The melodrama thing kinda weirded me out, too. Felt like a pre-k student challenging a college dean.
NINJA EDIT: Admiral, I was writing the post before you replied. Sorry. By the by, CLAC=Carrier, Light Attack Craft. And now, as I hit Hour 25 Awake of a 16-hour work day...G'night, folks. Can't wait to see what you brilliant, brilliant loonies have popped out when I get back.