I personally really prefer the later sleeker designs. It's not about aerodynamics, it's about looking cool. Like those cars from the 30s and 40s that had cool sculpting but were aerodynamically naughty word. When any engineer puts so much work into a design, they want it to both look good and function well, and that's what the later designs hit for me. I'm not the biggest lore nerd, but as far as remember the only design limitations on starfleet designs were that the nacelles put out a lot of radiation and needed to have some distance from ocupied sections, and it had to fit inside a warp bubble ( both of these explainations being retcons that came well after the design of the original Enterprise was finished ). I also like that as the ships developed that the ratio of the engineering section to general purpose section decreased. Making it feel like the engines were getting progressively better power ratios.
My favorites in order are;
Enterprise D - I love how it can look both imposing, powerful, and friendly all at the same time. I also love the huge saucer section, it really shows that the general purpose science and diplomatic parts of the ship's function were prioritized.
Constitution Refit - It has that original iconic silhouette, but with some much needed extra details.
Enterprise E - Really cool sleek design. It's the most aggressive looking so far, though that makes sense in a post Dominion War Starfleet. I just prefer the more welcoming designs.
Excelsior - It's got the most unique look of the lot, that blends the sleek and mechanical look of past ships well.
Constitution - Objectively a bit bland of a design, but one that is massively iconic.
NX - It does a good job of looking like a prototype Starfleet design, I like it but don't love it.
Enterprise C - Obviously made just to look like an intermediate design between the Excelsior and D. It's too basic of a blend between the two that doesn't have anything unique to it.
