Oh excellent.
Yes, it would be very interesting for different races to tend towards intelligence rather than research (and then to specific kinds of intelligence, like sabotage or tech-stealing), or to focus on building different kinds of fleets, or designing ships with different kinds of components (which would be reflected in their research tendencies), etc. The possibilities are really endless, and it would give the game a much better atmosphere.
I am playing the Balance MOD now, and I have not noticed different civilizations building or researching in markedly different manners....but I could be wrong?