Masterpiece's hull helps a ton. Stick some T3/4 subs on it and pile in. Of course, in T1 you don't have those, but T2s (when you can) will work fine there because everyone else is (usually) weaker as well.
Also, subs aren't accurate at long range if you just hold the fire button. Fire in small bursts, even single bolts, and then let the cross-hair shrink again and you'll hit more often. You can fire three or four times a second like this and hit nearly all of them. You might do less damage overall, but the damage will be better focussed and you'll make up for the lost DPS in being able to disable things quickly. Use them like lower powered, high RoF rail cannons at long range, and full-auto them at short range. Mid-range you'll need to switch it around a bit; try to shoot guns off if you can. Sometimes a sustained burst will panic someone into retreating.
For those pesky hovering snipers, remember that you can follow the sight beam and the rail trail to find them and pick them off. They usually don't have very good health, relying more on stealth for defence.
Subs are also good for area denial and anti-air - filling an area with lasers can sometimes move the hovering snipers around, making them easier to see. If you just pour fire at a flying bot you might be able to take out a fan or two. I generally throw a second or so of AA at them and then take more aimed shots. It's always fun to see them go spiralling down.
EDIT: Also, IIRC all the weapons aside from plasma are hitscan. If the target is in your sights, clicking (notwithstanding accuracy penalties from sustained fire or railgun reloading) will hit, even if the animation looks like it missed.
