Ah man I am really not looking forward to fighting these Cazadors and Deathclaws. Guess I'll have to leave Veronica behind on this one

I cleared out lots and lots of Cazadors today (they're thick up in the mountains west/northwest of Vegas). At 50 XP each, I got quite a few levels while traipsing around up there. I had Veronica and ED-E with me, but they only fought at close-range.
Hunting Rifle, Guns 50, regular .308 ammo - can do quite a number on them if you get a sneak attack. Reload time is quick enough too. But VATS, takes nearly a whole bar to get off a single shot. Big advantage of the HR is that you can engage from maximum range, and whittle it down at least halfway before it starts homing in on you. The Varmint Rifle or Ratslayer just doesn't have the punch. The Trail Carbine might also work.
10mm SMG - This actually works fairly well because you can dump a full clip downrange, which makes up for the lower theoretical DPS over the Hunting Rifle.
Hunting Shotgun - with the Shotgun Surgeon perk and regular ammo - this is my preferred weapon for close-medium range. 8-shots in the clip, but it's a manual reload cycle so make every shot count to the best of your ability. I can squeeze off two shots in VATS when they are within spitting distance to finish any off. The choke to reduce spread is highly recommended along with the long tube so you have 8 shots instead of 5.
Bring anti-venom, simpaks, super-stimpaks and doctor's kits (if you're on hardcoe mode). Foods that heal 40-60 points of damage are also recommended.
Deathclaws... sneak attack with the HR takes a chunk, but it gets really dicey after that. I may go back and try them now that I have the shotgun surgeon perk and a hunting shotgun.