It seems they went with more of a Millennium Falcon or Firefly type ship that can more easily land on a planet than a larger Enterprise-type. By doing so they cut out the middle-man of using a shuttle or transporter. Plus Bioware was sensitive to all the loading-screen complaints and decided a smaller ship won't have as much, if any.



I imagine that once the Initiative managed to begin constructing cruisers in the cluster that each capital ship would carry their own scouts, using the wheel-and-spokes method of exploring. Right now their immediate mission is quickly securing a home base and resources in the current cluster (which I doubt is more than 50 light years across, easily traveled in three or four days).