I tried Homeworld and homeworld2 (but people just called it cataclysm not HW2 which to me was bizzare cause it wasn't an expansion pack, it was a totally seperate game?) anyway, I don't like too many RTS games and was really put off by lack of control over the fleet. It was not quick enough for me and changing your view across the map was a chore in combat. I recently tried the Hegemonia Demo and graphicly looks outstanding, but play wise was worse than HW IMHO. I'll stick to flight sims!
NOw as for extracting ships from HW I can't from the main game, but From any mod created for HW I can do so... I don't like evry ship made, but there are quite a few I do like (either because individually it is cool, or it will fit a theme I'm going for).