Ok, so I tried a 0.3s retaliation delay, then a 1s retaliation delay. Although it works, it doesn’t solve the one-hit-kill (“cheese”) issue.
So I reverted everything and added a new Balloon breed to the elite tier instead. That will dilute the Cowards appearance from 50% to 33% (which is I believe is what @Stardrone is talking about here: Early Access version 62 - #131 by Stardrone )
But, if you’re in a bomber and you shoot a Coward point-blank then, yes, you’re still screwed. So try not to do that 