I hope you have a nice trip in your motorhome Steve. Sounds fun. Certainly a lot more comfortable than hitching with a backpack and tent! Fun times, though long past.
It just occurred to me, since you were mulling over ideas about missiles and how to make them more useful compared to beam weapons, what about the missile sensor rules?
Currently all missiles in a salvo strike the target. What if missiles remaining after a target is destroyed are not wasted but can retarget if they have sensors?
Since this is cheesy as an imaginary scenario, as you would expect all missiles approaching a target to commit prior to the destruction of the target, what if this was reimagined as missile onboard targeting AI, requiring its own research? The idea being the AI research will allow missiles with sensors not used in a salvo to be retargeted.
The AI research could have levels of tech to improve target acquisition, so start off with say a time penalty e.g. 25s to retarget during which the missile can be targeted by PD as though final defensive fire and ships can flee using up missile flight range. Reduce this time with research levels.
Another AI tech could improve the proportion of remaining missiles which are available to try again, so 50% > 100%.
Also what about a really scary AI tech, equvalent to particle lance, where tech 5 in both AI techs allows a new tech which enables missiles to target the same location in the armour of a ship, so drilling through the armour rather than making random divots and allowing missiles to enter the hull to wreak havoc with internal components much more efficiently ?
That could be refinable tech with a degree of spread factor.
Just thinking out loud, its better than cleaning the kitchen!