Question about the -loyalty switch and AI tax levels

[caravel]

True, no one has figured out how naval engagements actually work - and every thread discussing them is mere speculation (but still interesting). Ships seems to work more like agents in that you drag, drop and accept the mission and next year you see the results. What the actual stats do is still not clear. If I did know what the "strength" stat is supposed to be, I certainly cannot remember now.

With regards to attack and defence, it's also not clear. If a ship is attacked, it defends itself, presumably using it's defence stat. But it's not clear on whether it uses it's attack stat to "return fire". I believe this is unlikely. It's most likely that attack applies to attacking vessels and defence to those being attacked. But what happens when two fleets/ships attack each other on the same turn?

Ships stacks and how they work are the biggest mystery. It's not clear if stacks give any kind of advantage, or if all ships fight, or if it's just the best ship in the stack. It's also not clear on how command (seems more like valour) is awarded to the ships in the fleet. It's a question which gives rise to more questions.