Good point, Blax. The damage to individuals is very inconsistent, and the "hero is immune" trope comes into play a lot. However, I'd like to point out that all of the examples you included were Force sensitives. There may be something to that. Also, 'grazing hits' on such individuals may be less intense. After all, Obi-Wan got a metal walking platform dropped on his legs, but they didn't even swell or hurt afterwards.
And yes, LOS is about the only artillery we see, which is stupid considering the level of tech in the series.
While not taking his arguments entirely as my own, I wanted to showcase some of what Wong has said on it here:
Regarding Small Arms
The range and accuracy of a Star Wars handgun is unknown, but ergonomic considerations limit the accuracy of a handgun in the hands of the average human being irrespective of its theoretical capabilities. Handguns have been used effectively at ranges of 10-15 metres in the films, thus establishing that their effective range is at least as long as that of modern handguns. An unanswered question is the ammunition capacity of a Star Wars handgun. During the protracted battle of Naboo, we never saw anyone pause to reload once, which suggests that the heavy Naboo handguns can fire at least a few dozen shots before reloading. It is unfortunate that we never see the reloading procedure, because it would be interesting to compare the ergonomics of this process to that of modern handguns.
The penetrating power of a Star Wars handgun probably varies greatly from design to design, much like the power of modern handguns. Han Solo's blaster is quite large, and was seen blasting torso-sized chunks out of the docking bay walls in the Mos Eisley getaway scene as seen below. This gives it knock-down power more like a grenade launcher than a handgun, and it makes sense in light of its owner. Unlike a professional soldier, Han Solo is a man who expects to get into a gunfight against very limited odds, most likely in the form of a "mano a mano" showdown. The fact that he filed off his iron sights to facilitate the quick-draw (as described in "Han Solo at Star's End"
supports this speculation, since that is the sort of act which is virtually incomprehensible for anyone who expects to get into any other kind of combat. Therefore, he packs a gun which sacrifices ammunition for sheer killing power, so that even the most superficial glancing hit is virtually guaranteed to be lethal.
A real-life analogy would be the target-shooter, criminal, guerilla, or gun enthusiast who carries a huge handgun like the .44 Magnum Desert Eagle. Enormous cartridges like this are really much too powerful for military or police use, since their size and power come at a cost in ammunition capacity, and military and police use may require simultaneous engagement of multiple enemies, thus making ammunition capacity more important. Therefore, guns like this are not used by military forces and police officers (except for Dirty Harry, of course), but they are popular with many other types of gun owner, and there is a certain glamourous cachet about carrying one of the most powerful handguns in the world.
^ So in this case, Han Solo's blaster is not the norm and shouldn't be used as an indicator of traditional pistol small arms used by say, the Republic or the Empire.
The tiny handguns used by Queen Amidala and her handmaidens were much less powerful than Han Solo's weapon, but they still had enough firepower to knock the Neimoidian battle droids off their feet and put them down permanently. The lack of sights or scopies or any other protrusions indicates that they were designed for concealment and extreme close-quarters use, as demonstrated by the fact that they were invariably hidden from view, either on the persons of Queen Amidala's handmaidens or inside the armrest of her throne. Weapons like this are analogous to modern "holdout weapons" and would presumably have a very limited number of shots, for the purpose of holding off an enemy until help can arrive rather than engaging in full-fledged combat. As with Han Solo's gun, a gun like this will be designed for excessive firepower since it is crucial to ensure that each shot counts.
^ Even personal hold out blasters have kinetic knockback and can destroy combat droids. It's not a stretch to say that they might have an edge against standard Kevlar or other body armor, given that the ranges are comparable.
At the other end of the spectrum from these specialized weapons, Captain Panaka's Security S-5 military handgun resembled a modern general purpose handgun, designed for a wide variety of functions appropriate for police use. According to the Episode 1 Visual Dictionary, it had a rangefinding scope, an under-slung stun dart launcher, a stun setting, and a grappling hook attachment with a retractable liquid cable. It was powerful enough to put down a battle droid without being capable of reducing them to debris the way Han Solo's gun would have, and he was able to fire a great many shots without having to reload. He was also able to blast a large hole in a nearby window without injuring nearby friendlies, which suggests the use of low-powered shots (or perhaps dual power settings, since it was still powerful enough to dismember metallic battle droids). Similarly, the scout trooper handguns in ROTJ were not particularly destructive, although they were undoubtedly powerful enough to kill, thus indicating that they probably compromised firepower for the sake of miniaturization and ammunition capacity. As with real-life handguns, there is undoubtedly a Imperial manufacturer of handguns to suit every purpose, from enthusiasts to criminals, bodyguards, and soldiers.
Dual power settings in particular might address some inconsistencies.
His small arms page is here. Strictly small arms, the fight is closer, but if you start bringing in the navies of just about any SW society, it becomes a stomp.