Body armor should help in other ways, not just area wise, otherwise it’s borderline useless. Perhaps they have a shield of sorts? Maybe it’s not an eggshell around the person, but it’s sort of built into the armor itself. I’m envisioning something along the lines of the armor having a mesh all over, visible or not.
The burn marks from the energy weapons could look like injuries sustained from lightning bolts, smaller or larger depending on the power of the weapon.
“Energy weapons should potentially be recoil-less too.” I think they must be recoil-less. Take a look at these two videos: The SCIENCE! Behind Laser Rifles in Fallout 4 and The SCIENCE! Behind Plasma Rifles in Fallout 4.
They do need heat-sinks, though. Very efficient ones, at that.
The sword looks a lot katana-like, which means it’s used a certain way. There is no perfect sword (no, katana is one, either), and they all depend on context: why are they used, how are they used, what are they used for, and who is using them. So, close-quarters combat in narrow corridors would benefit from spears held infront of one or short swords like a Gladius, like this beauty. Anything longer than that and you might have trouble swinging it or even unsheating it in a small corridor, especially if you’re not alone. At least that’s what I think, but I’m not a trained martial artist.