Oh well, laser rifles are just fine. Against some alien types, they'll maybe even work better than heavy plasmas.
In addition, you've got infinite ammo (makes quite a difference if you rely much on auto shots, like I did) and they don't require any elerium. Just a matter of taste and much discussion among the addicts
As for losing countries: it's indeed enough to have a single allied country, but that's too much of a risk. In other words, each time you loose a country, you'll getting a little closer to the edge. As long as it's only a handful, no need to worry. But it shouldn't become a trend.