Shields revisited

[General Hawkwing]

Has anyone seen the AI use shield bypassing or shield dep. weapons? The reason I ask is because I wonder about the value of researching shields past level 5/6. If the AI is NOT going to focus on negating shield value during combat, why not just stick with standard shields?
Also, does any know the top level of small shields for units?

[Comar]

I don't know about the small shield question, but I have had the AI attack me with shield bypassing weapons. Very nasty surprise. So, to answer your question, yes, it is very worthwhile. Not to mention what will happen to you when you start to do multi-player.