I doubt that dead npcs will have any gameplay elements besides being a cosmetical addition. So there might be a high chance of no bodies, as they just use up physical calculations with no real addition to the game.
And I doubt that npcs will each have their own inventory if they are crew members. But if this is the case, the bodies might non the less not been rendered, as you just can drop the loot into space instead of letting it stay inside a body container.
But, and I think that this might be a very nice idea, you can have inventory of beaten npcs and players stored inside a bigger container like entity. Like an orb. So if a ship with 20 crew members explode, it lets flow glowing container orbs filled with the inventory of the slain players and npcs into many directions. Picking those orbs up with a salvage beam, and having then those orbs stored inside your cargo, feels a little better than picking up dead bodies with a salvager - am I right? :D
I have to add, that the decission, wether or not bodies belong to Starmade, is kinda tricky. It has a deep impact to the atmosphere, if there are many bodies floating in space or not.