Steam controller is the bombest PC interface device. The track pads are incredible if you scale them to hand size. For single player FPS couch gaming it blows the fuck out of dual analog sticks. I have played X-Com, Saint's Row Style, Wolfenstein. For a casual feet up Mouse-light/Controller hybrid experience there is nothing better. You can use it to browse the web, control netflix, change music.
The grip is tilted, and that is the largest barrier to initial entry, And you have to adjust the pads like you would a mouse on any PC game. Tilting the angle to match the way your thumb moves across the pad most naturally from left to right is the single biggest tweak. Toss in the ability to macro, turbo button, edge pan, and just straight clone a button. Thing is a beast. It can be used on games with PC only interfaces. Like Dungeon of the Endless.
I had a first gen that had a design problem and they had me mail it to Seattle when I bug reported. I used the replacement until last fall when I finally had a shoulder button break. And then I had some guild buddies mail me their dust collecting versions.
I would 100% agree there is a learning curve, I put mine down for 6 months before I tried again. If you aren't willing to learn how to customize it, it certainly is a worse device. I hope they make it better, and keep it in production. I'm going to be bummed if it ever dies. So in summary you are a pussy if you haven't tried to customize it and bitched.