Why eject the escape pods in Year of Hell? It makes no sense IMO.

[exodus]

^ Ok, now i'm not familiar with the specifics of escape pods, but they most be at least roomy enough to allow people to live in, yes? So why not have the crew live in the escape pods (without ejecting them) and then you have a basically empty ship...

I think living in them is a bit of a stretch.
I think they're something they only expect you to be in for a few hours until rescue. They're smaller than a shuttle, so I'd assume it would barely be a few seats & a console.