I've always felt a bolt action carbine make more sense than a lever action. Once mastered they are about equal in aimed rapid fire. They are lighter and more compact, much more accurate, come in better chamberings, can be reloaded faster, and are much less expensive.
I think that pretty much sums things up.
Levers are also the heaviest of all actions while bolt actions are the lightest.
Did you get that reversed? My heaviest levers are lighter than my lightest bolt guns.
Functionally, I think the bolt guns are generally much more robust and reliable. I also usually find them to be more accurate and geared towards shooting at longer ranges.
When it comes to shooting them, they are also more controllable and shootable, especially when shot rapidly. The problem with the lever guns in this respect is, working the lever tends to want to pull the gun out of your shoulder, where working the bolt is more natural at keeping it in your shoulder during the stroke.
With either of them, you need to practice properly to get the most out of them. You have to work the actions forcefully and positively if you dont want problems. Again though, the problem with the levers here is, the harder you work them, the more they want to come out of your shoulder as you go.
One thing I have noticed with the bolt guns is, the farther we have come from the bolt gun being the main military arm, the less people seem to understand their practical use. For me, the "best" bolt gun has a proper length (LOP) stock, good iron sights, a straight (as opposed to bent) bolt, a stripper guide and a good supply of strippers, and a usable shooting sling. Unfortunately, most modern commercial guns lack all of the above.
A plus to the lever guns is, they tend to still have a proper length stock, and can be fitted with decent irons, it just falls apart with the lever, mediocre accuracy as the range opens up, and slow and cumbersome reloads.