I love all the different viewpoints. A case can be made for pretty much all of them, which makes the game diverse and less predictable.
Yes it's nice that much of the time there is no "wrong answer". That is really one of the game's best features.
As Mata pointed out with vipers, they miss quite a bit which is why I had to go with more than 50% weapon power, sometimes up to 60%+ to win those coms.
So I'd say perhaps the best advice I can give in that regard is to
make sure your strategy is well thought out and tailored to your play style and plan ahead, taking into account the nuances like that one. It helps to get advice from guys like Mata or Jam etc. that have been playing a while, and thought about it a lot themselves, but ultimately it's all about how you want to play. Some people are miners and some prefer SOS while some prefer to log in every few days or week so they want coms with long timers and high payouts.
Other than that it often comes out to balance, not just as far as a weapon:shield ratio(which is important) but balancing these things with the rest of your strategy and play style.