With a few exceptions, you can forget these. Small-bore rifles (i.e., .22s) are almost useless for home defense; and larger-caliber bullets designed for deer hunting will go through the walls of your house, and likely those of your neighbor's house, too, should you miss your target. You'll probably kill an intruder if you hit him, but there's too much chance that you'll also kill someone in the next room or the next building. Bolt-action rifles are much slower to operate than pump-action or autoloaders. Single-shots and break-action types, as with shotguns, are less than optimal for home defense use.
The exceptions are those light rifles which fire pistol-class calibers. Most of these are autoloading rifles, but the small lever-action guns produced for the "Cowboy Action Shooting" market also are suitable. These rifles, in essence, have the same ballistic performance as handguns, but they are much easier to shoot accurately and (in most jurisdictions) don't require nearly as much legal hoo-hah as buying a pistol does. If you are so unfortunate as to live in a place where ownership of handguns is severely restricted, buying a shotgun or a light rifle is more or less going to be your only option. Again, these should be chosen over a hangun only if you're certain you're never going to need a gun outside your home. (If you think there'd be a fuss made when you showed up at a restaurant with a handgun, try doing it with a rifle and see what happens.)
A couple of current-production "light rifles" have considerable utility as house guns. In particular, the Marlin Camp Carbine (which is available in either 9 mm Parabellum or .45 ACP) is a short, light, handy semiautomatic rifle that would make a dandy choice if you don't want a pistol or a shotgun. Either caliber is effective at short range, but my preference is for the .45. (see the essay on ammunition for reasons why). The Camp Carbine in .45 uses the same magazines as the Colt Government Model pistol and would be an excellent companion piece if that's the pistol you happen to own. The 9mm version uses one of the magazines that have been standardized for the S&W autoloading pistol.
In recent months Ruger has announced a new light autoloading rifle that will compete head-to-head with the Camp Carbine. It has a synthetic stock, uses magazines designed for the P-series handguns, and is available in 9mm, .45 Auto, and .40 S&W.
Another possibility is the venerable M-1 Carbine
or one of its commercial variants. This is a lightweight, fast-handling,
and easy-to-shoot .30-caliber rifle suitable for home defense.
It was originally designed as an infantry rifle, and millions
were made during the Second World War and Korean Conflict. They
found particular favor in close-up house to house combat and jungle
warfare. They are widely available on the surplus-gun market,
as are accessories and ammunition. The M-1 wasn't much of a military
rifle, as it is rather underpowered for long-range combat, but
at indoor distances it will work as its designers intended. The
.30 Carbine is substantially more powerful than the .45 or 9mm,
and if overpenetration may present hazards, you might want to
think carefully about choosing it.