Agree totally.
Eventually lethal short range lasers will be developed. Power source is the issue. It would be easy enough today to blind an attacker with a laser. But that is a lawsuit magnet if you survive.
Are you trying to take down an ICBM or an attacker at point blank range? Super-capacitors now store up to 15Wh/kg or 8Wh/liter. A battery supplies topping charge to the SC, the SC delivers a high peak power burst, and the end result can be mayhem if properly applied.