The shields of the Apollo are actually improved towards the front. A standard (Artemis) class light cruiser has 80 shields, whilst the Apollo’s shields are 100 at the front. Valkyrie has a slightly lower shield, dropping down to 70 but then it is designed to favour long range engagements.
Looking at the vesselData file, the beam alignment was a little out compared to what I had originally designed. I have altered it in the new vesselData file, so they might be a little narrower (though the arc width is the same). I noticed the Valkyrie arc alignment was incorrect too (they were too narrow) so I have widened them. They weren’t hugely different, so I doubt the change will be noticeable next shift.