Well if you're finding that using lots of early Meteor starbases is an effective tactic, then evidently you're playing against the AI... in which nearly any strategy can work, really, because the AI is an opponent with no sense of how, uh, not to charge head-on into an enemy starbase (or other superior force).
If I play an AI opponent like that I usually find that carriers with bombers are the best tactic, because the AI doesn't know how to deal with lots of bombers, and bombers are better than heavy cruisers at taking out static defenses.
That said, if you're playing a human opponent, it's a different situation entirely. If you're going for large, relatively close-range firepower I would probably prefer Illuminators due to their superior spread-out DPS (IF you can micromanage them well), although Crusaders can work as well. But Advent also apparently have the best strike craft of any faction, which is something to consider - carriers with flak support can easily give Advent fighter/bomber dominance.
(If you're playing a human opponent) It most depends on what sort of fleet your enemy has. If your enemy has a lot of heavy cruisers, building carriers with bombers is your best bet, because bombers counter heavy cruisers... if your enemy is spamming bombers but doesn't have flak, carriers with fighters work wonders... if the enemy has some other regular combat fleet I'd use Illuminators. Darvin could probably provide more intelligent input on this... I don't play Advent much, especially not in multiplayer.
