I find I actually prefer Ol' Painless. Might be lower damage but there's more .32 ammo around than .45 (though still not tons of it), it seems to hit a lot better at range than Lincoln's repeater, and fights finish faster with headshots. Maybe that's just me though, actual game stats could prove me delusional.

Yep, I'd say Ol' Painless was my 'main weapon' during Fallout 3.

I think the best over all rifle is either Lincolns Repeater, Trail Carbine, or This Machine

Only reason This Machine makes this list, is because of ap rounds.
It doesn t seem as accurate at range as the other 2.

I ve never used the Brush Gun, but the 45/70 ammo is harder to come by than .44 mags or .308

HOLORIFLE

I'm really liking the fully modded and pristine condition Service Rifle my FNV character is using. She's tearing stuff up with that baby. Right behind that is -surprisingly- the Caravan Shotgun. Don't bother aiming, just land the crosshairs on a target and BLAM!

I've started toying around with a brush gun, but ammo is scarce at the level I'm at, so it's still growing on me. Haven't found a trail carbine yet.

The R91 assault rifle just because it looks badass, screw the assault carbine i want a R91. :gun:

Fallout 3-Xuanlong Assault Rifle
Fallout New Vegas-Assault Carbine

Fallout 3- A3-21's Plasma Rifle. This was always my favorite since I love energy weapons, Gauss Rifle isn't as useful in a full out firefight, I just use it as an energy sniper.

Fallout New Vegas- Brush Gun/Anti-Material Rifle