To start off, I play 4/5 times by myself in a sloop. I play on xbox, I'm terrible at PvP, I'm the saltiest king of salt when I lose my loot, and I completely get why so many people on this forum are against the Reaper's Bones company as it stands.
That being said, I think there are some benefits to this system.
1. Rank 5 ONLY tracks emissaries:
This takes new players, and those who don't feel confident enough to be an emissary literally off the radar for PvP hungry pirates. This is great for introducing new players to this fantastic game, with less (but always some) risk.
2. Emissaries are their best reward.
This is a follow up to number 1. Why waste time on a blank sloop if there's a nice juicy emissary a few islands away. Bored PvPers now have a target that they know will have something for them, and are more likely to leave Tall Tales, and other ships alone.
3. Alliances might start to have meaning:
Which types of players do you think are going to be drawn towards the reaper's bones company? The same ones that keg your ship after you both finish a fort, maybe? You're probably better off teaming with anyone that isn't followed by clouds of death on your map. You can avoid unsavory pirates, and find like-minded ones more easily. Is this a sure-fire way to tell? Absolutely not. But the reward is significantly greater for those who stay in their emissary to rank 5, so if you come across a rank 5 merchant, they're more than likely doing merchant-related things.
4. The fight can go both ways.
They have the disadvantage of always being on the map. You have ample warning, and you know their intentions are hostile. Avoid them, or hunt them down with other allies and get rewards from your emissary. The fight can go both ways.
