In DGen campaigns it's fairly easy to adjust the AI to one's skill level by tweaking the numbers in the [Skill] section of DB file. I usually fly against something like A10,V20,N40 (10 aces, 20 veterans, 40 Normals) and can stay alive long enough to enjoy a given campaign. I also learned to expect a violent counterattack the moment I shoot down one of theirs
The only gripe I have about the new AI is their deflection shooting skills, which seems a bit too good in high-G turning fights. Perhaps the AI should have a limiting factor equivalent to human's blacking out.