...no miniswarm is better than a TIE Fighter miniswarm.

Do you think any of the new TIE/ln pilots are worth considering in said miniswarm, or are Zetas still where we wanna be?

I think the Ion setup isn't inherently flawed against Soontir, but the squads that could use it were. There just weren't many good Ion Cannon carriers in the game, particularly not ones that could be paired with a miniswarm of excellent blockers. The TIE/D is now the best IC carrier, maybe the only really good one, and no miniswarm is better than a TIE Fighter miniswarm.

I'd argue that the Y with ICT was good pre autothrusters and then with BTL for cost. I also think that Bs were actually strong carriers but not really used. That said, I agree the Defender is a ridiculously good platform for it.

...no miniswarm is better than a TIE Fighter miniswarm.

Do you think any of the new TIE/ln pilots are worth considering in said miniswarm, or are Zetas still where we wanna be?

I like the Zetas in the list described in the OP, because of how the points broke down and my desire for PS3. As the meta shifts, I can see going for different PS bids, and as the TIE/D becomes available to make quality Defenders at lower points values, some extra can be added to the escort. A 46 point Rex (same as in OP but with Ion instead of HLC) could be grouped with a quartet of Obsidians for an extra gun and blocker if 3 was still a solid PS bid. It could also be matched with Crack Shot Omega Squadron Pilots. So short answer to you question is: I don't know, it depends. Useful, huh?