Fleet screens through a medieval combined-arms analogy

Are smaller fleet warships like peasant levies, expected to absorb attacks meant for high-value ships?

Only to an extent; castle outworks and archers supporting men-at-arms are preferred comparisons for their protective role.

The comparison with expendable peasant levies receives qualified agreement, followed by alternative analogies. Castle outworks protect the important structure behind them. Archers supporting men-at-arms offer a combined-arms comparison, with Agincourt and Crecy named as English examples. The unfavorable counterexample is French mounted troops overriding and obstructing their Genoese crossbowmen. These comparisons preserve a supporting force's own fighting role while explaining how it protects more valuable combatants. The later discussion connects full-strength warbows and mauls with archers' considerable physical strength and potential danger in close combat.