Seriously?
People base respect for each other on plane choice?
Seems awful short-sighted and shallow.
I've seen a lot of "difficult mode" planes that wouldn't stray from their protective hordes, and only seemed to want to fight me if they had help (and even then, they'd often hang outside the fight and only jump in to pounce on me when I'd been whittled down to a state of helplessness).
And I've been in many a swarm with my "easy mode" lone-wolf F4U where simply keeping an eye on my enemies was tough; let alone surviving, getting any kills, or getting out with any kills.
In a one on one, sure, plane choice matters. In the MA's though, landing kills is based far more on many factors OTHER than plane choice.
I believe the "plane choice" argument is primarily an excuse for getting killed. It's a crutch. AN important crutch at times, because some people obviously need to find a way to feel better than others when their stats may tell a different story.
I don't think I could respect someone who based respect on plane choice.