I’d be interested in your sources. I’m no true historian, more a hobbyist, but from what I’ve read, it seems the tactics you’re referring to, when we see them in the early centuries of the Church, were used predominately by the various heretical branches, and much less often by the orthodox bishops, who were more likely the victims. Indeed, the Arians were infamous for persecutions, backed by emperors and aristocrats, driving many into exile.
Before that, though, before the 4th century, when the Church was still essentially illegal in Rome, there was little opportunity for the systematic persecution of opponents that you suggest, particularly anything in an official capacity. It is also difficult for a minority to persecute a majority, particularly when the majority holds the political power–as in the case of the Arians. Which is why it is all the more miraculous that the true doctrine of the Church was preserved (in the See of Rome) against such hostilities, eventually overcoming them.
