They are excellent when your toon is a Cardassian. Remove their names, give then generic outfits and remind them they are nothing by giving them the most minimal gear and they WILL learn their place. If they do not, discard and repeat. I have done it on onwith toon and it works well.
If you want to know legit ways to get EC in game send me a PM @steveangelis and I can tell you a few ways. I generally don't share them in public as that would be counter productive.