I for one would be grateful for methods other than using a stun rod. I can remember the first time I tried to use one in the original xcom -It was my first mission against the snakemen, lol. I switched to the stun grenade launcher afterwards and never looked back.
I think ranged stun weapons are more practical. Aside from the stun baton or giving the grenade launcher stun grenades, non-lethal bullets used in riot control would be a good inspiration. The effectiveness of them against armored targets might drop a bit but you could also go for piercing dart guns.