If the weapons are as bad as the Cobra, then the only way to call it a combat ship would be if it had strong shields and high maneuverability.
I think you're right about the hard point placement being important, and if the FDL is any indicator then side weapon placement is not a huge benefit either due to interference of the left-right center line occlusion. The only ships I've flown that have good gun placement where you can hit with all of the guns simultaneously over a large solid angle are the sidewinder and the vulture. But maybe having a short stubby nose will help with attack angles?The funny thing is, the Cobra's weapons aren't even bad (hardpoint placement under the wings is, but not the gun classes per se). It's just the existence of the Vulture and maybe the FDL, too, which now dominate not just within the game, but also within our heads.
I would be a bit surprised if it has a medium hardppjnt, let alone a large one.
Really? That's a bit surprising. From the pictures of it, it looks like it likely has two medium and two small, one of each on either side of the ship. I don't think they'd bother calling it a combat ship if it didn't at least have a couple medium hardpoints.
Assuming that the ship is roughly Viper size, leaving him without couple of medium hardpoints would be ridiculous.