We actually prefer hit and run and not having permanent bases on GG. My faction is 2 man only and we attack almost daily. We take on larger forces and even go against multiple garage ships with just our own designs. Sure we are made fun of and called cheaters for no reason, but anyone with a brain should understand that 2 people can not put down bases and stand toe to toe with a 43 man faction allied with 4 other factions and wealthy from months/years of playing on HWS. Yet we are having fun SV PvP constantly and getting kills even. One of the last fights was 9 v 2 and we still fought them for 15 minutes before warping and surviving even though the 9 included 2 garage ships.
Fact is if you want to be small you can’t expect to have equal power/influence as the giant faction alliances, it would be broken if you did. But there is much fun to be had annoying them and still mining all the gold you need. In 1 month I have mined OCD from 1 to 5, maxed out OAMs, and have 40+ million in the bank. Al the while we spend more time attacking them than mining, it is more fun.