I like the Horus, though truth be told only for spacesuperiority where it's the best damn ship to date.
(It can outrun anyone, though the Apollo and Valkyre turned faster it was little resolve.
It's like an F-16/F-15 vs. the F-14. The tomcat may not win in a furball, but it doesn't have to enter one - burn through and energy fight is where it excels.)
From the same period I use the good 'ol Herc for any assault/escort mission (hey if you're actually assaulting a base and not on escort duty take a damn bomber!).
For bomber interception nothing beats the Valkyre - it has the best handling of all ships and a good AB capacity to hunt down bombs.
(Though for actually taking down the *bombers* I'll take the Herc, 4 synchronised gunmounts are 4 mounts regardless anything else.)