That was my first impression, too.
But then I tried it again, and also WC3 without cockpits, and then later other games (like X3), and I got used to it.
Now I see the advantages: I have a better view.
Of course I still like cockpits, especially like in WC1 with exploding instruments when you are damaged, and damaged screens. And I remember that sitting in a raptor had me always FEEL that I was in a heavy fighter. I liked that.
Ok, but some cockpits were IMHO really too much, Privateer's Tarsus, for example.
So I think it is really a matter of taste.
I also remembered that some people didn't like the Prophecy cockpits. I kinda liked them. They didn't block my view, but I still hat the impression of sitting in a cockpit.
But many people would prefer flying without cockpits. There was a discussion in a forum (about the X series, in that case X3) that brought up interesting points about that. A mod brought back the cockpits from X2 in X3 and there were really some people that wrote "What? I was happy that they finally got rid of them!"
And then, of course, it is also something you have to develop. It is much easier to just move the camera from above and behind the ship to right in front the ship. Taddaa, cockpit view. Modeling cockpits would take time and money, especially since many people wouldn't like 2D-cockpits. That could be another reason why there are no cockpits in many games.
(I don't know about WC4, but I can imagine that the game was expensive enough, so they didn't have the money for cockpits.)