If I was to analogize the "Defiant Class", I'd say he's similar to WWE's Chad Gable.She's manoeuvrable because she's very powerful for her size while being smaller than almost any other class of starship. She's not particularly fast, especially by the standards of 2370s starships.
Chad Gable is 5'8" & weighs 200 lbs, but he can DeadLift German Suplexes a 6'8" 385 lb Braun Strowman.
The Defiant-class is also Tiny, but punches WELL above it's weight/mass class for a ship of it's size.
The Saber-class doesn't seem to focus on Pulse Phaser's as it's primary damage dealer and uses standard Phaser Arrays as it's main DEW (Directed Energy Weapon).And yet is the Defiant-class that different from the Sabre-class? Both small post-Wolf 359 designs, both with nacelles directly attached to a oddly-shaped and somewhat angular saucer, both powerful for their size... the only real difference is that the Sabre-class seems to have better shuttlebay facilities and proper impulse engines.
So the Saber-class would be better in a 3D manuevering battle while the Defiant-class would be better in a hit & run / Heavy Pounding on strafing runs battle.
Two very different type of primary tactical mind-sets when your main weapons are very different.
The Saber is supposed to fly around the target and jab it with it's Phaser Array emitters and keep poking, like it's class name-sake.
The Defiant is supposed to go in on strafing runs and machine-gun punch it's way through it's targets shield and then run away and manuever back for more attack runs.
That's how I interpret the different design philosophies.
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