I know this will probably count as a bite.........
The name "WE Branch Fanatic" is very much a legacy. When I joined PPRuNe it was the name I selected. The "WE Branch" refers to were I was hoping/expecting to go before things went wrong (and subsequent events highlighted personal issues that relate to this). The "Fanatic" bit was a joke at my own expense regarding my strongly held views. I now part of the naval service in a very different capacity to the one I imagined.
No psychoanalysis please.........not here.
As for the WE departments at sea, in ships where the fighting capabilities are provided by the ship's own sensors and weapons they're responsible for proving this capability. No point in having systems you can't maintain. Aboard a CVS or LPH they may play second fiddle to the air group, aboard a LPD they may be secondary to the landing craft, helicopters and embarked troops, but would you want to fly from a ship without radar, EW, landing aids, communications etc.
I've worked on what might be called WE equipment as a civilian, and one system that come to mind was designed for the Type 23 frigate but also retrofitted to the carriers, Ocean,LPD(R).........
There is a little irony in your comment as the amount of money spend on ships' sensor and weapons and their upkeep has dwindled in recent years, in fact most of it has been spent elsewhere.