Do different types of bows do different things?

After a lot of searching, all I've found so far is that the different types of bows have different refire rates and flight times. Do they have any other qualities that separate them further? I thought I read somewhere either on a forum or a fansite that one type of bow can shoot through minor obstructions (bushes, small trees, etc.) where the other bows would get a line-of-sight problem message. I can't find where I read that again, so I've been wondering if it was just a dream.

But if that is real, could someone tell me what (if anything) the other bows can do?

What you are referring to is the flight path or trajectory. Some bows fire arrows with very little arc in-flight, while others lob their arrows similar to a catapult - a high arcing trajectory. The latter would be better for overcoming obstacles, while the former usually has much less time-to-target.