Its easy to go round and round, trying to chose the right knife, what type, what size, etc.... The kinds of food a person likes to cook, the amount, and the type of kitchen are the biggest factors in deciding what knife to purchase.
Restaurant cooks, prepare a variety of foods, in large amounts, as quickly as possible. A Santoku to a pro cook, is almost unthinkable. It's too short to do large amounts of prep. Plus it doesn't excel, at any particular cut, so it doesn't give pro cooks a reason to put them in their bags.
Home Cooks are free to chose, whatever knife they want. My first Japanese knife, was a Santoku. It was light, agile, and very sharp. The wide blade, made it easy to scoop off the board and into a bowl. The first few family parties, quickly showed that it was not a good knife, even when prepping food for as few as ten people. Throw teenagers or young adults into that mix, and the number quickly goes down.
Unless a home kitchen is designed by a cook, they tend to be small and not very well organized. I found it uncomfortable to use a gyuto in these kitchens, especially when cooking for a family gathering or party, with adults and kids running in and out of the kitchen.
I needed a small knife, that could prep large amounts of food, and if I got bumped, wouldn't send Grandma to the emergency room. This need, led me to the knife forums, where I read about full size cleavers. They quickly became my main knife. An unexpected benefit to learning how to use full size cleavers, is that they make other types of knives feel small, and more controllable.
Does the food, you like to cook, need a lot of chopping? A gyuto, cleaver or nakiri, might be a good choice. Are you a vegetarian? Then a nakiri would be at the top of the list. Eat fish on a regular basis? Then you will want to look at a slicer. How many people do you cook for? If its only a few, then any knife from a petty to a gyuto will work. Do you like to cook for groups? Its easier to prep large amounts of food, with a bigger knife. How much room do you have in the kitchen?
The more questions you can answer about your needs, the easier it will be to choose the right knife.
Jay