I've always liked this mech. In part, I saw it first in FM: Crusaders, where the art is better. Mostly, I just really love long range on slow mechs, so the idea of just pounding away with a mix of ERLLs and LRMs is just right up my alley. It's a tricky mech to fight, because there isn't really a trick to it. Asside from a few gimick weapons you can't really out range it (or artilery in a non dual context, I guess), while closing is both tricky and not hugely helpful anyway. Since Spirits tend to be good shots, you can't count on being able to just run around it in a fast mech. Really, the only reliable way to beat it is to just shove another big nasty monster in its face.
I will say I don't see a Stalker in it. Sure, LLs and LRMs, but the arangment is very difrent, and where as in the Stalker the secondary battery was very powerful and realled called out for you to close in to use it, on the Kite the SRMs are more of an after thought. I think a Stalker IIC would pretty much rule, and might fight similarly to the Kite (they'd be great team mates) I think it would be difrent enough to be worth having seperate from this.
And to wrap it up going back to looks, it isn't a pretty mech no matter which art you look at, and yes the Spirits were capable of making pretty mechs (I like the Stooping Hawk, personaly). I think it goes to value. The Kite is the cheap and chearful mech (for a high end assualt) so why waste energy designing or producing anything pretty for it? The omnis by contrast are pride mechs, and as long as you're going to put on targeting computers and XL engines and ATMs, may as well make the mech look a bit sleaker, too.