The Chimera Project
Gloriana made their goals clear. The mech designers had to design expert mechs that were entirely geared towards defeating other expert mechs.
Even if the Larkinson expert mechs lacked the power to finish off a powerful opponent, then they at least had to pose enough of a threat to entangle powerful enemy elements.
With the considerable advantages built up by the Larkinson Clan's mech forces, they did not fear a fight against any second-class opponents. Even if the Friday Coalition launched another ambush by dispatching a couple of mech divisions, the Avatars, Penitent Sisters, Swordmaidens and so on possessed more than enough confidence to fend off elite military mech units!
Yet this scenario became a lot trickier if those enemy mech divisions also brought their resident expert pilots. The inclusion of these powerful elements introduced a lot of variables on the battlefield and made it much harder for the Larkinsons to limit the damage they incurred.