I must admit that I was pretty frustrated with the NPC's when 2.1 came out. I parked my Vette for a week, and just ran missions for OoM in my trusty Python when I felt like firing up E-D.
I got excited when I read the details of today's patch, as well as the server side changes to NPC weapons related engineer upgrades the other day.
So.... I took the Vette for a run in a High-RES when I got home from work.... and now I've got a big ol' grin on my face! The NPC's are still tougher than in 2.0, but much more manageable. Now granted, in 2.0 I hunted in Haz-RES and today I was in a High-RES, but with the increased maneuverability and fire power of the NPC's I'm appreciative for the cops help.
The smaller ships will circle you quite a bit and pack a punch, no doubt. BH is certainly more challenging than in 2.0, but now (at least for me) it's fun and not frustrating like it was when 2.1 went live.
I'm back to bounty hunting and I have a renewed interest in playing E-D!
If you're interested, here's a 2:30 video of me and the cops taking on an Elite Python and his two Asp wingmen. One of the Asp's was nearly dead when the video starts, but you'll get the idea. Much more fun pirate killing than last weekend!!