Protect... Allows target to get too far ahead / Wings don't work

[user1679]

I don't see a "general gameplay" forum for this type of question so here it is...

I'm playing a modded 'custom' Albion Prelude game and recently
salvaged a TS and several M3 / M4 / M5 ships in a sector that had a war
going on. I am attempting to escort the TS about 12 sectors back to
Albion Prime.

I separated my ships into wings based on class and assigned them to
"protect" the TS ship which I then told to "Dock at..." and picked a station
in AP.

Everything is fine until my wings reach the center of the sector map where
they just fly in circles until the TS ship jumps through the gate (usually 18
KM away). After the TS jumps, the wings make a rush for the gate and
jump too.

Once in the new sector, the TS is sometimes already under attack and the
wings then randomly start attacking anything they can find. Unfortunately
when I look at "My Property", I see that only one or two ships of all my
wings are actually engaged in combat and they don't work in formation.

I've read all that I could find here, on steam and reddit about wings,
commands, etc. but there isn't a clear explanation on how to get your
wings to work together to protect a target.

Any advice?

Mods:

Advanced Universe
Bonus Pack
Docking Computer Size
Hull Multiplication
Auto Jump
Docking Lockup Fix
Freight Distribution Network Lite
Gates - No Rep Loss
Marine Repairs
Numeric Race Ranks
Remember Home
Salvage Command Suite
Salvage Commands and NPCs
Sector Takeover (STO)
Phanon Corp (AP Only)
Advanced Navigation Software
Cheat Package (for the unlmited salvage)
Custom Wing Manager (allows naming wings)
Improved Races
LIFE
Ship Killed Notifications
XRM