So would I, now that
@Lord Sovereign brings it up.
All in all, I suppose his take on this makes the Ferengi more similar to the CIS and Outer Rim megacorps from
Star Wars, seeing as the Trade Federation and its fellow conglomerates employ private armies and the like to ward off pirates, guard their holdings, and (of course) fight a frickin'
intergalactic war with a professional, state-sponsored force raised by the Galactic Republic. It'd be much the same for ATL Ferengi, I imagine, sans the commonplace AI and with more of a "love-hate-commerce" relationship with the Alliance's neighbors (as opposed to outright war).