I think Logitech hardware is overrated. Keyboards and mouses are fine, but not better than other (cheaper) brands; the last Logitech gamepad I had broke too soon (on the other hands, Thrustmaster and Microsoft pads have proven to be almost indestructible). I won't say that Logitech hardware is bad (they make good hardware) but it's surely overrated.
Razer gamepads looks fine (but I'd like to put one in my hands before buying) but as you said, they're pretty expensive. I'm looking for a gamepad below 50$.
Thrustmaster have two interesting pads, the GP XID and the GPX. The first one has no rumble, and it seems that they have no native Direct Input support. Both of them have better grips than the Xbox 360 pad.
And my last option would be checking that Xbox One gamepad. The Xbox 360 is fine (I've been gaming on one of those for years), but the grips can be slippery and the sticks are "soft" (my old Thrustmaster sticks feels more precise). So it's time to check if the Xbox One is less slippery and more precise.
And that next-gen gamepad, the Steampad... well, my wife have one of those. I haven't played with it, but the digital stick feels cumbersome and the grips seems to be as slippery as the Xbox 360 gamepad.
About Sony controllers... last one I used was the Dualshock from PS2. They're fine, but do modern Sony controllers support XInput?
I have traveled across the universe and through the years to find Her.
Sometimes going all the way is just a start...
I'm selling some stuff!
