I feel I'm not reading your question correctly, so I'll answer the best I can:

For medium / close range enemies, use a crossbow. It always does the flat amount of damage as displayed on the item box (it appears when you move the mouse over an item in your inventory), and it doesn't take long to get the bolt ready. However, the reload time for the crossbow takes a moment, so you don't want to be too terribly close to an enemy while you're loading another bolt. It'll be easy for them to get a free hit on you, in that case.

For bows, you'll want to use them on enemies that are far away, or medium distance away. You'll have to nock an arrow fully to get the maximum amount of damage, and that might not be the best decision depending on what you're fighting, or how far away your enemy is. In a close range fight, the nocking time for maximum damage is too long to be able to use a bow reliably. You can fire arrows somewhat quickly, but your fatigue will also get low quickly if you take this route.

For throwing knives / stars, they're best used on enemies close to you. They can be thrown and readied quickly, so they're useful in a pinch. For medium and long ranges, it can be difficult to reliably hit enemies, as the throwing knives and stars are tiny. In addition, large quantities of the throwing weapons can be difficult to come by, so it's a good idea to not use them too much.

For a universal tip, time your shots. Don't fire / throw them constantly - you're more likely to miss your shots, and your fatigue will suffer for it. Hope this helps you out.