I played against the elite AI today and it really felt like online with 8 contenders.
So I'm not sure the mess is only due to how pilots fly, the physics engine may also be responsible in some way. Like how a ship can push you from behind and in half a second make you face the wall on one side (sorry if this is bad worded...). If you add the sticky walls and the massive amount of damage you get from both walls and ships, it indeed gets pretty annoying (and makes pilot assist feel like some kind of patch instead of a feature, on a side note...)