Baer, for streamers like you who play / have played a bajillion games, I'm frequently impressed at how many details you can keep in your mind to be semi-competent at games you last played years ago and are just picking up again! Like sure you're making some intermediate-level mistakes, but I can never remember what button to use to duck behind cover in FPSes - which only have like four buttons and a joystick, not the ~20-40ish moving parts in an endgame battle in FTL. Well fought!
The level one cloak recharges faster, so it is often better to run level one cloak and use it to dodge shots instead of delaying their firing. Sadly, you can't dodge beams though) engine upgrades are, imo, super important for the stealth cruiser.