I agree with OP 100%
Ships have always had crew, its an intrinsic part of that game segment. Saying that there's no need to introduce faceless crew is absurd, because this game is full of generics. One of the more popular factions, Imperial Troopers, is full of generics. And there's plenty of TIE fighter pilots, so I don't understand why we couldn't get a Clone Pilot, especially since it's an already existing model within the franchise, what with Episode 3 or Pandemic's Battlefront 2.
This basically sets the precedent of future ships not having crew if it's too much hassle to make a new toon or assign an existing one...
Even if the idea of a new character to gear up is too much to bare, then they could've made Echo or the new ARC trooper this ship's Crew. :/