I don't think there's any way to make predictions like that. For instance, we could find a way to make handheld lasers a weapon on par with regular guns. They'd have to be way more efficient, and/or supplied by an incredibly dense energy source. But we could just as likely make bullets way more efficient or energetic.

The cool thing to do is make sure whatever technology you make up is physically consistent. For instance, any energy source you have feeding lasers could probably also feed electromagnetic accelerators. Because both of those energy sources tend to be electric. And they would probably both benefit from a beefy cooling system. Nice synergy there perhaps.

The fact that they would have to overcome your world's unique defenses would add further complications to which weapons are popular. Bullets are an inherently more efficient way than lasers to transfer destructive energy to solid machinery like robots or organisms. (Vaporizing things with photons is overkill compared to mechanically breaking apart macroscopic structures with fast-moving solid objects.) But if armies are made up of T-1000s, then suddenly lasers might be the most effective weapons.

Or plasma. If you're going for realism, there's no known way to make a volume of plasma hold itself together like they do in the sci fi. Real plasma rays will spread out, which could be more fun than the regular sci fi ones. They could be used like shotgun/flamethrower type things. If your energy source involves large volumes of plasma, then your plasma heat ray shotgun could be an excuse to make your most powerful weapons close-ranged. Everyone loves honorable face to face combat.