Agreed.
The best ship for a freelancer would be a combination of ships for your needs.
Soulforge Trains are great for making money...so are the Bullpupmk3 and the APC, but they lack in the offense/defense department.
Having a VHF (or several) makes for a good way to take out the baddies (and other players)
I'm not sure if the docking restrictions on larger ships are still in effect, but if they are, i'd lean towards the bullpupmk3 or the apc as a moneymaker.
Also...the Deathblade (i think that's the one...there are several versions of it...but the one available in Oasis has a 170 cargo and is also a VHF with the standard 2 (9) 4 (10) vhf setup.
The cargo hold isn't as big as the other money-makers, but if you prefer to fly only one ship for both money and killing, it's a good mix.
-Zeroth