Choosing the right loadout and setup for a ship, I think, is the better answer to that. FDLs are "meta" because they can outmaneuver and therefore dictate the flow of battle against anything else, so unless you resort to reverski in a Corvette and have a weapon setup with that in mind, that outcome is pretty pre-ordained.I thought the Corvette was the best combat ship ever once I got it. Sure thing, it's nearly unkillable in a RES and deletes pirate lord 'Condas in half a minute.
Then there was a certain CG involving a certain CEO of a certain ship manufacturer who went full John Galt and needed to be reminded of the stark realities of the world. During that my fully grade-5 "meta" 'Vette met someone in and FDL in a CZ and the stark realities were also reminded to me: a ship does not fly itself and firepower means jack all if you can't get a gun solution.
Ditched the "unkillable" 'Vette sometime after because it's a boring brick that doesn't encourage learning good piloting. It's much more rewarding to take a non-meta ship and prevail against all odds.
Chieftain is a lot more fun if you want maneuverability to be an edge. "Meta" is not a curse word, being as effective as possible is natural and doesn't have to be correlated with limiting your creativity in the slightest - but you do have to be willing to look at things as they are & peel back the onion layers behind certain game mechanics.