When a modern cruiser becomes more than a singleton flagship

How useful would a modern cruiser or other large surface combatant be?

Useful but expensive, with real fleet-wide value appearing only when enough ships are bought to provide regular availability rather than one exceptional escort.

A ship built for the traditional cruising role differs from a vessel labeled a cruiser simply because it is a very large surface combatant. Either type can be useful, but the latter is expensive. A single ship provides an occasional powerful escort and command platform without changing daily fleet coverage. Four to six begin to provide repeatable availability, while a much larger class can shape force structure across several deployments.