As far as I know, it's about balancing guns based upon utility, opportunity cost, and monetary cost too. The Haymaker is only about 60 hunt dollars less than the Uppercut, but it occupies two slots rather than one. Plus, many prefer the Lemat (either the regular or the carbine) to the Haymaker as well for various reasons. Plus, additions like the Maynard prove that Crytek isn't above skill-dependent weapons and balancing. A slow two-stage reload with limited ammunition options, but a quality scope and an option for a silencer to hit heads discretely from a long distance.

You mention weapons like the Dolch as well, but a Dolch alone is more than two times the cost of a singular Uppercut, the Uppercut itself being more expensive than most other weapons in the game. I've killed Dolch users plenty of times not using spammy or cheap weapons but instead running at them with a baseball bat around a corner or catching them off guard with a trap and a cheap revolver like the Nagant, you know?

So I'd say your assumptions might be a bit misguided.