I think they buff up damage for titans, but how often I use a red butten? rare, it's just too much work, time, cost to do that only to get blowed up, but however I do few starbase upgrade, just in case, as backup if I don't had powerful fleet to fight enemies or I lost my fleet to somewhere ect, and red butten gave me a chance to fight back rather than lose a game. I don't think it's overpower, I don't think everyone going to blow up starbase many time every time few or one ship pass the starbase, it's lot of work reseaching and build those starbase, not very wise to go for starbase first, first just build fleet, though small, then you could risk building starbase.
Edit: some don't mind, but mostly annyod to repent building starbase and blow up, build other and blow up, it's can be tired, so advort had much life easy, they can use again, again without blow them up and start over again by build and upgrade while TEC had to replace a "lost" many time,