User blog comment:LilyheartsLightning/The MEWiki Arsenal Awards 2012/@comment-60.240.209.220-20130124133108/@comment-4967682-20130124221553

The Talon's extra damage against shields matters for very little in a game where the most painful to fight enemies all have thick armor bars. Many also have shields, but those are easy to bring down with shield-sapping powers. The Paladin also usually ends up doing way more damage than the Talon overall, since it's way easier to get head shots- and if the mod slot is factored in, it can apply an extra extended barrel/piercing mod that the Talon wouldn't have.

The Phalanx is the Vindicator's equivalent because it's a low to mid tier weapon that replaces the "basic" version of its class, having higher damage than said weapon but lower spare ammo and firing rate. The Mantis is only really equivalent to the Carnifex because it's a sniping weapon; in that capacity, it's 100% outclassed. The Carnifex is lighter, faster, doesn't obscure your vision with a scope, and can do almost as much damage, enough to one or two shot most infantry (all that really matters with the Mantis, since it's function is to get one hit kill head shots). The Carnifex, like many pistols, is far superior to several long weapons that are supposed to fill the same role.