I think so, the missile and heavy laser turrets are brutal.

Missile turrets are brilliant, just make sure you move the fast travel location to behind the damn things

I use heavy laser turrets, and turn the random defend missions off so they're actually always useful. Quite often I'm passing through a settlement and the turrets go off and destroy everything, while my settlers all arm up and run in the direction of the threat. I don't have to lift a finger if I don't want to.

Though right now poor old Daniel Finch is trapped at Hub City Auto Wreckers, because the whole settlement ventured out to destroy some passing Gunners one time while I was there, and we all ended up at Hub City The whole settlement stormed Hub City! Anyway, he got stuck somehow. So I armed him to the eyeballs and now he's really useful every time I have to rescue some Finch Farm "friend" who got kidnapped there...he's unkillable it seems Every time I run through there he throws grenades around and provides cover fire.

I'm enjoying travelling to the slog occasionally as the forged gang's hq is really close to it and my supply caravans invariably draw the forged towards the 4 missile turrets and 6 heavy laser turrets I have set up on the roof, lots of pretty colours and flying limbs

Rockets and Lasers point outward, Lasers point inward.

Don't run too far ahead of the turrets, let them do their thing and watch the fireworks.

I did not know so I set them to fire in zones.

I guess missile turrets will not fire if they don't have an line of sight to target so putting an low wall behind them will stop them for firing into the settlement.
I tend to put them on roof edges and this will limit the area they can reach anyway.

Question is if the heavy laser is more cost effective than lots of machine guns.

Find oil a lot less common than fibre optics

Worse comes to worse you always by shipments of oil.

I do a lot of scavenging so I am not really hurting for oil. Plus I build up settlements a bit at a time. I usually run short on wood.

Now if only the settlers would follow this advice.

I think there should be some internal simulations of attacks even when you are not there -- *realistic* simulations too, not just having all your crops, water, turrets ruined every time. Some kind of Fallout Shelter-style text simulation of combat shouldn't be too hard to do.