If your opponent has slow/weak aa it is almost hilariously imbalanced because they cant deal with it.

Gremlins have no alpha and this means your banshees can stick around a bit longer to kill stuff. They are also too slow to get somewhere before the banshees have finished killing something.

Gremlins are pretty weak as aa.
Pros.
-Invisible,
-Hitscan weapon,
-Very manoeuvrable (gs like brawlers have problem to kill gremlin, they sometimes evades also ravens).

Cons.
-Costly (two vandals with greter range costs almost on gremlin + you need pay energy for cloak),
-very close range (its IMO is largest problem with gremlins),
-No alpha damage.

I tried many times use them in teams but they mostly failed do they job because of small range. For surprise attacks killing large target need mass of them. In primary they aren't base aa but more like support aa for main defence aa or other types mobile aa.

Warriors are very good AA within their short range so can deal with Banshee. They can also kill light defenses and protect against the ground switch. I have not tried them against gunships but a mix of Warrior and Gremlin might work.

Yeah gremlins are weak early but terrors later on. Unlike other AA where your opponent has to make a big mistake to lose a trade, gremlins are invisible and thus not running into them takes a lot more caution. Air's caution is air's failure to capitalise on their air control, so this is a very good thing even if they do trade less efficiently than other comparable AA. Funnily enough, it's their lack of visible presence that gives them such a large presence.

Warriors are unbansheeable. Combined with gremlins they can't be kited by rapiers or brawlers. They also protect against the switch. It means that you're capable of exerting some pressure, which is a thing that most factories struggle with against GS.

It's not about whether or not you fly into the warriors, it's about the fact that you can't.

Why are you trying to defend with mobile AA? Get a Razor. I thought the question was on how to move out and expand.

Btw I started on the lower area because the metal extractors are closer together so you get eco up quicker. Then you can take comm down to the even lower area and take those 3 mexes, while cranes take the super-safe upper area.