If you want to play the most fun ship in Star Trek Online, choosing an escort ship is probably a very good idea. Escort ships are different from both science and cruiser ships for a number of reasons. First and foremost, escort ships are the smallest but also the fastest ships available, meaning you will easily outmaneuver your opponent, come at their rear side in which case they will be unable to target you with torpedoes. Being fast and maneuverable, as well as much smaller is a great feature and you should not forget it.
Shush Escorts starships in STO furthermore have the most advanced and strongest firepower. Their phazors are incredibly powerful, and escort vessels are the only ones who can equip cannons, the strongest weapons available to all vessel. Escort vessel is an incredibly powerful starship with unusual blasting power for their size. They also have one extra forward weapon slot which also greatly help in space battles.
There are however also a few disadvantages to having an escort star ship. Their medical, science and engineering abilities are greatly lower than the ones on cruisers and science ships. You will not be able to repair your ship as fast as others, sending and fighting against boarding parties is not as easy, detecting cloaked vessels not possible, and using science skills is not as effective. But despite these cons, I still think escort ships are more than a match for any other ship and with a little skills and know-how you shouldn’t have problems defeating any adversary regardless of their ship class or bridge officers.
All in all, escort ships in Star Trek Online are most definitely fun to play and despite a few negative aspects you will quickly learn why choosing one was not a mistake.