the strain will make a huge difference haha, but also how long you allow the plant to vegetate for, topping once or twice while vegetating, usuing the SCROG method, i forget the tech term, but you can slowley tie your plants over, ive done that with success on my first try.
but pot size, not really, if you are using a smaller pot, then you will been to water more often, and once they bgin flowering the roots alsmost totally stop growing... top 2 weeks before flowering, keep the lights low, try growing an afghani, or northeren lights, purple urkle, mk ultra, indica strains all come to mind for short and stout. i harvest my blueberry early, and they stay uner 3 feet.
there are lots of ways to manipulate, but, how much space do you have, shorter indica's are going to spread... you could keep trimming the slips on a NL, hindu kush, indica, or even a lot of purple starins stay low, my pruplr ice plants stay at around 3' at full maturity. but, again monser fan leafs, and multiple tops.
do a scrog man...! i just saw a gorgeous enormous white widow in a scrog with ebb and flow, i couldnt even guess what the final weigh in will be, its a single girlie under 400w hps, probally 4' with the bucket, but a 4'-5' circumfrance...
i would look for a gator aide cooler, on of the tall insulated ones, with a spout., make it a DWC and just go for it, do a ig fat scrod.
but, what strains(s) do you have or have available? what space? what light? how much time? how much experience? what medium?
my DWC experience is limited, but what i learnedis valuable, use a large rez, with ulktra bubbles, constabtly check the ph after ever refill for the first few days, some strains are not good in the hands of amatures in DWC, i grew 2 amazing Dutch Treats in DWC, but killed several BlueBerrys...