What sorts of things do you consider when designing a squad? This may depend on whether you are playing casually with friends or in a competitive setting, but a lot of the same considerations apply to both in my mind. Here are a few I can think of to get the conversation started:
Fun - am I going to have a good time playing with this group of ships, win or lose? This may be a game I personally want to excel at, but it's still just a game with a game's primary purpose
Flexibility - are my ships interchangeable so that I can choose the order to move them that best suits the situation? can my ships move more independently so as to not worry so much about mixed PS being an issue?
Offense - in a 75 minute game, the pressure is on to take points off the board fast. The quicker you gain the upper hand, the more options you have for the middle and end game and the more pressure you put on your opponent
Defense - in order to blow things up you have to not get dead. The best defense is not being in firing arcs at all, of course, but barring that how much heat can a squad take before it's in trouble? If one ship gets lost early, how big a deal is that?
Unpredictability - being predictable kills in this game. How much can my squad surprise my opponent?
Pilot Skill - do I want some low PS ships mixed in who are more likely to get actions and force bumps, or do I go high PS and aim for an early kill before one of the opponent's ships gets a shot off. Also, if I have low PS ships I tend to want initiative, which means taking fewer than 100 points, and I set up first so my opponent can dictate the battlefield more than I may want.
Opportunity Cost of Upgrades - whether I am upgrading to a named pilot or adding a cannon, missile, or modification to my ship, I always think through what it would mean if I just took those points and brought in another ship instead. Usually I err on the side of more ships, though there are certainly exceptions
Format of the game - am I playing a friendly match that is last-man-standing in nature, or in a tournament where I have 60-75 minutes before time is called? This can and should have an impact on squad building - I want a squad I can get a full win with more than half the time. I've stopped running some squads in competitive scenes simply because every outcome was either a modified win or a close loss - I could never get decisive one way or another with it.