At any rate, you’re not shooting down super small objects with either a SAM from a VLS cell, a Stinger-type weapon or even a CIWS.

CIWS is probably the best option for drones, at this time. I agree about SAMs and such. I also agree with using a laser, but we don't yet have one that is deployable. However, if you want to destroy a target (e.g. drone), there will be a dwell time on the target. Shooting "hundreds of times per second" isn't really an option. Depending on the target you'll have to dwell -possibly- for a few seconds per (depending on the target).

It is true that Aegis can track a single bird (I was aware of flocks, but it can track a single bird). As you probably know, targets hugging the waves are a lot more difficult to track because of the waves. Creates a lot of false reflections when you are trying to resolve something small flying just a few meters above the peaks.