Man, am I just
full of questions lately or what?
The system takes some getting used to and I've always felt it best to ask for advice before taking leaps.
So! Psionics are interesting in their way... but versus other professions seem rather underpowered, especially when talents are thrown into the mix.
I mean, running a psyker and using any power 5 magnitudes higher than your level is, even with good Co and SD stats, a 1-in-3 chance of probably dying and also of gaining a penalty to your next burnout roll. And if you intend to go over that, you're quickly running into penalties of -25, -50, -100, so on. On the plus side, if you need to go more than 10 mags over your level, you might as well go all the way, since there's not much difference between -100 and -200.
Looking at the Psychic Bolt table, I have to wonder... what would possess a psychic to use these? First, they need to make TWO rolls with a chance of fumbling, and a LE 5 weapon blows them right out of the water. Using said laser does not cost you any Refractory period, probably can be used a lot more since there's no mind points, can probably be used for raking attacks, may double-tap or be fired on multiple targets... Worst of all, you need to be level 17 to use the maximum results of the psychic bolt table without potentially killing yourself, and then you're putting yourself out of action for several rounds; that bolt can't be used again until the refractory period is up.
One has to wonder why a psychic wouldn't just train himself to use a good laser pistol and use things that force RR rolls instead when you run into someone with too much DB or armor to handle.
(One potential solution to this would be to make psychic bolt attacks equal to an equivalent weapon of half the magnitude in Energy. That makes them much more respectable, even if they can't fire again until the Refractory period is over. Seriously, if you're spending 20+ mind points, you'd better be getting some sort of bang for your buck, and the psychic bolt table is utterly pathetic.)
Really, aside from the more esoteric powers that can certainly come in handy, I don't see the incentive for being a Psychic. The profession's prohibitive costs in other sections make it hard to branch out, too.
That said, are there any recommendations on how to make psychics more useful without making them overpowered? Ability to use powers in the refractory period. Less dangerous heart-failure and burn-out charts. Less significant penalties during the refractory period in general. If the problem is a psyker using a power over his level, stiffen the penalties for actually casting the effect. So on.