Clearly a plane with a full load of armament is going to be behave more sluggishly than a plane with no armament remaining.
Are you suggesting that on top of one-shot-killing Assault mechs, the Shiva would then also get a bonus to speed and maneuverability just to erase any doubt that the pilot might be shot down?
Stop exaggerating Frosti, let's look at some figures first....
Huit Prime, guns loaded it has 12 free tons, so instead of 85tons moving at 32kph we have 73tons on the same chassis, so topspeed might be 37.2kph unboosted with no extra ammo (assuming it's a direct relationship between weight and speed).....I'd definitely use that tank unloaded, and rely on a nearby APC for reloads (time taken to get into range is of the essence in TC I believe).
So let's take the Shiva, although I don't have any hard info (I don't fly) I'm going to assume that a Shiva that drops his FBombs (and reload) has dropped 10% of it's mass, so instead of ~300kph it now cruises at ~330kph without boost (hardly a game breaker, but something that makes the ASF and Tanks handling and strategies feel more unique).... I can definately see a situation where a pilot might find himself surrounded by hostile ASF while in the FBomber....I'd drop the bombs for the speed boost and afterburn towards safety.....might not do a lot of good, but would definately add depth and a realistic feeling.
Off-Topic;
@SpanishInquisition, IIRC the somewhat-rare Clan facial tattoos (cyber implants) mimic the Neurohelmet without the need for a neurohelmet, they don't offer any greater integration and just make the warriors look mean and scarey
. And as for Neural feedback, you get that constantly from the gyro, sensors and systems on a 'mech, and the 'mech translates your brains balance computations and uses them to stay upright, it's like a rider and a horse much more than a suit that the pilot controls with his thoughts.....but it's closer to a Horse and Rider Avatar style than Cowboy style. Neural feedback is also the damage report system of the 'mech, if you feel a sharp pain in your left side you've taken a sizeable hit to the left torso, the HTAL display is from the tabletop game and IIRC not described in the Lore so this feedback is essential to a pilots Situational Awareness and the 'mechs mobility.
Neural feedback can kill or knock a pilot unconscious in some situations. If the Helmet is not tuned to your Alpha properly waves it will be uncomfortable to say the least, if it is locked onto some-one elses Alpha waves then it WILL FRY your brain as an anti-theft device). And the feedback system can also malfunction with the right pattern of damage, causing the pilot constant pain (rather than the short damage report pain he/she feels when the 'mech is damaged), unconsciousness and even death if your very very unlucky.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=at9hxU864Fg&feature=relatedThe Commando pilot in this intro movie for MW2:Mercs cries out load everytime his 'mech takes damage (He's a rookie and not used to the pain, you can tell this when he crys out "Whaa" when he see's the Stalkers SRMs before they hit and "Arghhh" in pain when a second later he is hit), the Zeus pilot is one badass sister, who's obviously seen a lot of combat as she doesn't even cry out when her left arm is ripped off at the elbow! But even she can't resist a scream with the pain of an ammo explosion as she ejects.
I'm not suggesting this for MWLL (not sure how you can mimic that anyways) but just clarifying things on a point of BTU nerdiness
