I don't, quite get it. So... were you here too for the Klingon carriers? The Orion FDCs? Is it really about Carriers, or the Federation getting them? Because, balance wise, putting carriers on both sides is no less fair than putting flagships on both sides. And if you want to use canon, you're right, I can't point to a single ship in Starfleet that's been seen serving as a carier. But I really can't point to any Klingon or Orion ones either. As far as those go, the Klingon Empire is never even seen using fighters, while there's more than a few wings of peregrines to be seen in DS9, lending at least some credence to the notion that there must be some ship somewhere in the fleet that, if not picks them up so they can keep up with all the larger, faster ships, at least resupplies them between fights and gives their little crews a place to stretch their legs.

Personally, I like the Akira middle ground. A ship that isn't a carrier by default, but can at least, in some comparitively limited manner (relative to the dedicated carriers the Klingons use), serve as one when the need arises. And it actually makes some sense that it would be the torpedo boat that gets this role, provided the Akira's torpedoes also fit the Peregrines. It would have the stockpiles needed to rearm them.