Returning to this to say that in one of the recent updates it appears that AI behaviour has improved massively. At least in my test flight. AI pilot appears to manage fuel better, or perhaps he's been given more fuel. They're not crashing into hillsides and they are maintaining close formation better than I have noticed before. I've not managed to test their bingo state and whether they eject when they call bingo.
slughead's post in AI Pilots - oh what fun they are. was marked as the answer