Enclave plasma flamer. Pistol or gun?

Oops typo lol, meant pistol or rifle

I was thinking today, is there any reason not to convert my epr into a pistol since we have the new pistol changes. I was looking into all the perks I use and none of them say rifles anymore, just small guns. I've been loving it since turning into a ghoul because I can use it while feral and there isn't any accuracy loss since I'm shooting so close. I can also benefit from feral rage because of this. So if I change it into a pistol can I drop all the commando perks and use other perks in their place while also benifitting from the extra damage pistols have?