The Warlords mod for Homeworld II is amazing fun. Really it's the best Star Wars RTS I've ever played.
I'm not sure what the support for it is like anymore, since it's been years since I played it last, and I know there was work happening on a Sins of a Solar Empire mod going on by the same guy (more or less a "port" of Warlords), but man; the level of detail on the ships was amazing. From the Executor down to the TIE fighters, everything was spot on. You could just follow one little TIE around as it engaged in dogfights with X-Wings, or you could zoom way out and watch your ISDs pound the pulp out of some Rebels on a true three-dimensional plane. Truly an amazing experience.
Here are a few screenshots I had laying around that I took for background purposes. I realize now that it kind of shows the fleets you were talking about not liking, but they're pretty damn awesome (not to mention the AI Rebels would always give me a run for my money).