Yes, you should ride as if you are a target, but at the same time you should also somewhat ride as if you own the road, because that increases your visibility. The challenge is the proper mixing of the two.

The problem is that in areas where bicycles are required by law to be on the roadway, they're squeezing the cyclists into a very narrow strip of the roadway where all vehicles turn through.

Cyclists should be riding in the middle of the road, like you said, like they own it and force drivers to take notice. However, this is likely to increase road rage and increase the risk of non-accidental cyclist injuries.

I know where I lived in the UK I was legally obligated to be on the sidewalk as a cyclist. By the local road layouts, I actually found it safer, because the sidewalks and junctions were made with pedestrians and cyclists in mind, not just motorists.

What I believe was the most beneficial was no anti-J-walking law. It seems bizarre, but because of the rural nature of the area, I could cross the road in the middle of downtown on a busy street and people would have to yield right of way to me a pedestrian, which made all pedestrians and cyclists more visible to motorists because they had to routinely watch for us.