1. In general, I don't see any problem starting already engaged. Sometimes, it can be tiresome spending several turns just closing when little actually occurs while closing, i.e. little to no change in direction, strategy, etc. I think the main thing is to consider victory conditions. For example, if such a lone ship lasts so many turns, does the player gain a point. As long as victory conditions are based on something other than last-man-standing, I think unbalanced games could be quite fun.

I need to return to work, so I will post thoughts about the other points a bit later.

Sign up for a month on the upcoming solo campaign. Having a diverse set of scenarios is needed for a campaign to sustain its fun.