I wouldn't worry about overfitting a ship. Don't use your entire bank account the fit the ship. Fit something well, and in the low or regular res sites, attack ships that the system police are attacking. This helps shield you from aggro and also pick up bounties more easily.
Yeah, agreed. The link above is pretty overkill, but It's survivable!
Picking your targets is probably the most important part. Picking off weakened ships is a very effective way to earn bounties/bonds.
In combat zones, strategy wise, stay with the wolf-pack. Find a green area on the sensors and stay with it. Shoot at what they're shooting at and keep moving.