Currently, when a projectile hits a docked entity:
- the docked entity shields absorb as much damage as they can (however stops at 1 shield if a parent can absorb the leftover shields)
- if there is leftover damage and the docked entity's parent have at least 25% shields and its shields is greater than the leftover damage, its shields absorb as much as they can, otherwise they absorb nothing
- repeat 2 until there's either no parent or no leftover damage
I think the part in bold is a bug.
(note: the fact that you can drop the parent entity's shields below 25% with a poweful enough shot might also be a bug, I don't know if it's intended)