Good update this time: I re-outfitted my Python according to the dirty+GHRP build above and took it into Maelstrom Taranis (this time with knowledge of previous mistakes as well as your (and others') advice up my sleeve). I managed to successfully collect all the materials necessary to unlock caustic sink launchers within three visits, with pit stops at Vukurbeh for RRR before and after each visit. I was able to escape each (hyper||inter)diction without taking any damage by simply boosting toward the target system in hyperdictions and by doing a sort of sloppy, space-based version of a barrel roll in regular interdictions. I believe there were at least two instances where a Glaive was present during a hyperdiction (though I can't be sure as my ship was never facing them and I'm not familiar enough with their sounds), and had caught up to me enough to reappear on my sensors shortly before my FSD finished its initial charge, with one managing to fire a missile off in vain shortly before I jumped out.
Speaking of sensors, I quickly realized that E-rated sensors, even with long range, were insufficient to lock onto caustic generators, so I switched back to the Long Range 6A sensors I'd previously had on my Python, though I found that even that was only able to detect the caustic generators from about a kilometer away, but then again, if detection range scales linearly with the sensors' typical emissions range, that's still probably a much greater area in which they're able to detect the caustic generators while still being outside their guaranteed detonation radius.
Given that, I updated all the other builds in the spreadsheet to use A-rated sensors instead of E-rated, which increases their heat generation (even pushing the coldest Dolphin build above 20% thruster temp), rebuy cost, and, in some cases, weight (due to needing a higher-class power plant). In two cases (the Beluga and Type 6), the GHRP builds had to switch back to regular HRPs as the highest compatible A-rated power plant was unable to accommodate them.
During this, I noticed that a ship's score in my spreadsheet would incorrectly increase when I entered the higher power consumption numbers in, and discovered an error in the scoring formula that considered high silent running times to be a bad thing (for instance, using ((max(Y$2:Y$51)-Y2)/(max(Y$2:Y$51)-min(Y$2:Y$51))) instead of ((Y2-min(Y$2:Y$51))/(max(Y$2:Y$51)-min(Y$2:Y$51)))). This has now been fixed, and the builds above have been updated to match, though I should also note that I never actually used silent running during any of my visits except for the purpose of overheating to burn off caustic DOT stacks.
After unlocking caustic sink launchers, I replaced one of the heat sink launchers on my Python with a caustic sink launcher (engineered with high capacity of course) and got the five massive energy surge analytics for the pulse neutralizer in two visits (I was disappointed to find that a hit from the pulse only gave 1 analytics instead of the 3-packs most materials come in). In both these visits and the first three, my ship was never destroyed once (though my hull did drop below 20% by the time I left from the first visit). Overall, I'm thoroughly satisfied with the performance of this build, at least for these purposes. I may switch to a Krait Mk II if I ever actually visit the Titan itself, though I'm not in any particular rush to do so at the moment. Maybe that'll change with the impending Update 16; who knows.
In any case, I'm incredibly grateful for all your advice and suggestions. o7
