So you want to be those things in that order? lol or just be able to do all of them whenever you want?
Well right now going off new info from 2nd QnA on Terrapin then it's going to depend on what you want to do with exploration.
Judging by what you have said tho only 2 of your roles you want to do will not be driven by exploration. Privateer role being someone who can do anything needed. Be it crew someone else's ship or haul ore or even protect a convoy. So in order to provide this role it will take a variety of ships and your limited based on how many ships you have providing you different roles.
Salvager is a very self explanatory job to perform. Unless you want to spend a shit load of money and always salvage with a crew of players the best thing to do here is wait for a smaller salvage ship than the Reclaimer. But that will depend on if you want to do salvage on the scale the Reclaimer can do. If you want the multi-crew large scale salvage then go with the Reclaimer. Otherwise wait for the smaller versions of salvage ships to release and get one of them being either small 1-2man or smaller multi-crew 3-4 man.
Smugglers will need different ships depending on what they are smuggling and where it's going. So everything from a ship no one can find to a ship that can carry a lot of cargo in plain sight without being found. Without a lot more info on smuggling there is no way of saying exactly what ships will do well in this role. Also weather you are smuggling against npc or players is another thing entirely to. The Phoenix is the only ship i know of that has a compartment specifically designed for smuggling stuff past scanners. But ships that are small in cargo but designed to not be found (or allow you to not be found by avoiding patrols) would be a good fit as well. Ships like the Terrapin, 315P work great at being able to find patrols before they find you and by avoiding being found you can smuggle cargo to a location.
Combat pilot is going to depend strictly on your preference. Out of the ships currently available unless you want to fill a role of interdiction or interception there is only 3 choices. The best part is thanks to the developers we know how they intend them to end up in ballance compared to each other. The Saber is the toughest of the ships in durability followed by the Hornet then the Buccaneer. In fire power the buccaneer has more weapons in total as well as the largest single weapon and comparable missiles to the hornet. The hornet has the unmanned turret allowing firepower to be projected in a larger radius around the ship and come stock with rockets for stationary targets. The Saber packs a lot of forward punch and better missiles than the buccaneer but less total weapons. So unless you want to fulfill a different role other than direct combat in a small fighter those are really your only 3 choices.
Exploration... My main focus and really best advice I can give is do what I did. Terrapin and carrack allow me to perform small scale and large scale exploration. I dont need any ships in between. But my intent is to find things for others to utilize. I do not intend to be the one salvaging ships or reclaiming them. I do not intend to be the one doing the science or other things involved in other things I will find. Unless it's a asteroid belt (that's what my prospector is for) or a jump point I will not be doing anything directly with it apart from appraising its value and getting paid while providing content for a lot of other Test members to do. If you intend to bring back relics and do a lot of solo exploration where you will utilize a cargo bay then you really do not need any ships besides Terrapin and either the Aquila or Carrack (since they are on a basic level the same thing on 2 different scales).
So based on that the list would look like this:
Terrapin (exploration, smuggling, Privateer)
Aquila or Carrack (exploration, Privateer)
Dragonfly (only one unless you plan to do the mini carrier with your cat) (Getting around as needed)
Caterpillar (Privateer, smuggling, salvage)
The Salvage ship you choose (small or large) (Salvage)
Freelancer or Cutlass (Privateer)
Combat ship (PVP, PVE, Combat role, privateer)
