Avengers, possibly supported by Flails (absolutely great loadout for anti-fighter work in a 4+2 configuration... I wish those were still available in FS2).
I always found the Banshee abysmal. Overall firepower in standard FS1 weaponry is fairly equal, just split differently between shields and hull so there is nothing to justify the energy expenditure. In Silent Threat, 4 Avengers + 2 S-Breakers will outperform an all-Banshee loadout against shields and hull, at a quarter of the energy requirements. In the main game, I'll happily give up a little firepower in order to juggle fighters or simply use all Avengers.
Secondaries... I liked the Interceptor but then I only played the port.