You can justify it that way, but you have to be a RA to BUY it. It's not handed out cheap, so, maybe should come with a few perks. i spent four years in the us Marines, and firepower is firepower, and anything named dreadnought, including the missile from the voyager episode dreadnought, means outright firepower, so if the ship can only be bought for $25, then a sane thinking individual could only surmise that it would have a few perks to it. Yes, your arguments of it only being a Captain level ship are mildly justified, however, you have to be an admiral to buy it, so, tier level goes out the window. Wars are won by superior firepower, and if you pay for it, it should be delivered.
the veteran is right. Dreadnought should mean dreadnought. not just a fancy 3rd nacelle, and a phaser cannon that takes forEVER to recharge.
BoBW he pretty much saved the entire Federation while in command of the E-D.
No. Data saved the Federation. If you remember, Riker's actual LAST order was to Wesley Crusher ordering a collision course with the Borg shp. As the Borg were firing and cutting into the hull (again); Riker was standing there with his thmb up his butt, yelling, "I can't!".