Hammerhead Tank? SMS? List musings.

I've been working with my list lately, and I've started to notice... my Hammerhead tank is not pulling its weight. With the points I throw into my Hammerhead, I can almost afford another two Broadsides without Shield Drones, or I can definitely afford a squad of Deathrains, fully equipped, both of which would add to my firepower immensely.
Furthermore, the SMS on my Pathfnder Devilfish hasn't really come into play... not that I expected it to, I only tossed it on because I didn't have anywhere real to put the points. If I drop those as well, the prospective Broadsides can grab some Shield Drones and other goodies. Alternatively, the prospective Deathrains can bloom into fully armed Fireknives, giving me a massive amount of anti-infantry weaponry.

What to do? I'm leaning towards the extra Railguns from the Broadsides right now, as 5 Railguns in addition to all my missiles will solve any tank problem I have. It could be argued that the Crisis Suits bring effective anti-tank as well, with more infantry killing power, but I'm not sure that I feel entirely safe with only one unit holding Railguns. Despite cover, Shield Drones, and leadership boosts, I am terrified of my Broadsides being singled out and me losing my best way to deal with heavy tanks. With two Broadside squads, I can finally play a dual firebase list effectively as well.
On the other hand, against all but high AV vehicles, the missiles are more effective overall. The plasma would be an excellent addition as well, as it would make my offensive force overwhelming powerful.

My feel now is that I should take the Broadsides for the extra AT, and the Deathrains or Fireknives at 2000. I could easily reduce a Kroot unit to find the points for firepower..
Thoughts? I'd love suggestions here, I feel I'm close to maxing out my firepower.

I'm torn right now.

Turbo: Gun Drone Squadrons

Gun Drones are a little used unit, again competing with the far superior Pathfinders and Piranhas. The main problem, however, is not that Gun Drones are bad, but that we shouldn't paying full price for them in most cases; A piranha squadron will bring you a small squad for free, other vehicles can bring pairs, and they can also accompany Crisis Teams for a little firepower and ablative wounds for 2pts cheaper a piece.

In their squadron form, either formed via ejection from vehicles or simply purchased, Gun Drones have a variety of uses:

-Gun Drones are often used as "glue" for wall, using their expendable mass to fill in where Kroot have fallen.

-Gun Drones can move around to act as mobile cover for other units, giving cover saves or slowing would-be assault units.

-Gun Drones have low priority on enemy lists, meaning that they can often flank the enemy position if you present the opponent a distraction. Their carbines can be an effective weapon for slowing AV10.

-Gun Drones rarely deal enough damage to cause substantial chaos, but they have one large upside to their weapons; pinning. Firing your Gun Drones at an important enemy unit gives you a small chance to pin. While not reliable, it is a useful bonus that should be thought of every once and a while.

Gun Drones that are purchased in squadron form can Deepstrike, which makes them reaching annoying positions much easier. Deepstriking allows instant access to rear armor, and allows access to backfield enemy heavy weapons. Note that Gun Drones (like Shadowsun) don't suffer from the XV8's inability to jump after deepstriking.

Gun Drones may also find a niche in my proposed "mobile wall". Making up the bulk of the proposed Stealth Wall, the squadrons themselves may be useful in a similar way. While only 8 men strong, they are a cheap option... though this, again, is overshadowed by the Piranha, as they bring the drones necessary while making the needed blockades themselves.

Drones? An important question

Gun Drones on vehicles. Are they a blessing or a curse?

On one hand, they make great roadblocks, contesters, and general annoyances, built-in to the cost of the Devilfish.

On the dreaded downside, however, they are ruled to give up KP in most events. This can absolutely screw a Tau players chances in any mission that involves, KP, essentially giving up an additional killpoint for the deaths of our transports.

So the question is becomes: is it worth the points to get rid of them? 2/3rds of the time, they can slow enemies attacking a small firebase, block assault lanes, give cover... but on the third, they can lose you the game easily.

To buy SMS for a Devilfish, you have to pay 20 points. While it gives you a bit of firepower, the amount isn't really equal to what you can be getting from an actual fighting element, such as a Crisis Suit. You lose your road-blocking techniques, but gain safety in Annihilation.

As for me, I've been on the fence for this for a while. After some deliberation, I've found that my army needs the extra points in real firepower. Drones are back on my Devilfish to both save points and to run interference for my Broadsides and Pathfinders, buying them some extra shooting turns, hopefully.

Other Tau players; do you have Drones on your 'Fish? No Drones? No 'Fish?

Speeding Up

The Battleforce also lacks a form of Fast Attack; meaning that you'll have to get some yourself if you want to use anything.

I've already toldyou how to convert spare Fire Warriors into Pathfinders, so that should be of little concern.

I do not recommend the use of Vespid, and Gun Drones (while severly underestimated) are not recommended either. The latter is usable, but their effectiveness is mostly as an annoyance unit, meaning that they are not that great to take until you've filled your other points with Scorers, Railguns, and Crisis Suits.

That leaves us the use of Piranhas.

Piranhas are useful in a wierd way to the Tau army as they don't bring a lot of firepower, and because of this their mobility seems rather useless; I can bring one Fusion Blaster and Targetting Array there for 70 points? And they seem rather fragile compared to most other vehicles. Weakest possible armor on the side and rear and overpriced compared to Landspeeders, as well as poorly armed in comparison.
So why use Piranhas? Because they make excellent roadblocks. Piranha roadblocks can be used in two ways; the Swordfish and the School of Piranhas.

The Swordfish tactic is simple; A piranha with a Fusion Blaster and Targetting Array rushes the enemy and parks directly in front of the enemy's vanguard vehicle, moving flat-out. The enemy can attempt to destroy it in his shooting phase, but the movement prior will be slowed by him circumventing your vehicle. If your vehicle lives, then you can hop to the enemy's rear armour and fire your meltagun, or plop down in front again.

The School of Piranhas uses two or more Piranhas (two are a cheap annoyance; three or more are a tank murdering unit that should be feared). Each Piranha is armed with a Fusion Blaster (you could use Burst Cannons, but I feel they are a waste of the Piranha), Targetting Array, Flechettes, and some should have Target Locks. The strategy begins the same as the Swordfish; rush a tank, block path, melta and then annoy. But this becomes much more effective; the space taken up by two Piranhas is enough to waste entire turns of movement, and three or more can easily block mulitple units. In addition, the Target Locks will allow you to attempt melta on multiple vehicles; an extremely useful ability. Finally, the Flechettes will allow you to block off infantry paths; putting them between you and an offending unit will force them to move around. Assaulting them will not help your opponent either, as the Flechettes will tear light infantry apart, while hurting even the heavier ones (two Flechettes in a squadron while statistically wound every model in the assaulting unit! That means only 5 Boyz from a full 30 man mob will live, or you can shred about three Marines from a full Tacsquad if they attempt to grenade your Piranhas to death). In addition, when moved at cruising or flatout speeds, the enemy needs 6s to even hit the vehicle, which is easily failed.

If you are having trouble stemming an enemy rush, try using Piranhas in your list; from popping mech to Flechetting hordes, these models can annoy or kill any would be threat.