I really, really like the Wiimote, but the Nunchuks are rubbish. A two Wiimote setup (one for each hand) is much better. Joycons try to emulate that, but they are smaller and as a result ergonomy and the motion sensors suffer (bigger helps with detecting motions correctly). Also Wiimotes came with the sensor bar, which allowed for a good pointing ability.

That said, Joycons have the obvious upside to be connected to the Switch or to be plugged into a frame to form a controller. They have some other cool options available.

The gamepad has the ability to draw stuff, and if you saw what people managed to proiduce in art academy, you know how awesome that is.

Wiimote + Nunchuk!! had it been wireless with nunchuck+ the default for WiiU, things might have been very different atm

WiiU gamepad is good as an accessory but way too big for a main controller

joycons are perfect for the hubrid the switch is, d-pad on the left con are not convinient imo

Wiimote+nunchuck and Pro Controller

I won't vote for any of them.

JoyCons would be get my vote if they weren't so expensive and so prone to drift. I only have the included pair, and I've lucked out with drift so far. But it's likely to happen at some point. My cousin, sister, and several other people I know personally have experienced JoyCon drift.
The Wii U GamePad is comfy enough despite not looking it. It does look like a Fisher Price toy, and the battery sucks.
The Wii Remote is really gimmicky, and the least practical. You gotta keep feeding it disposable batteries, or buy rechargeable ones.

Wii remote controller was a beast. IR camera, motion controls, speaker, default remote layout, NES sideways layout, port for the nunchuck expansion.

They thought of everything. The thing was ahead of its time. No wonder it had detractors.

I actually enjoyed all three, but for me the clear winner is the Wiimote.

The IR pointer remains the best method of aiming in games in my opinion, its motion controls were put to great use in a variety of games, it felt ergonomic and comfortable to hold, the speaker had some cool uses such as acting like a phone in Fatal Frame 4 and Goldeneye 007, battery life was good, and being able to sit with my hands further apart is a big plus too.

I'd choose the Wii U gamepad out of the three. The Joycon drift is unacceptable and the buttons are too hard to press. The Wiimote buttons aren't very good placed, especially if you hold it horizontal and you don't have an analog stick by default.

The Wii U gamepad looks a bit clunky, but it's very comfortable in your hands (way more than the Switch). All buttons are well placed and are high quality (especially L, R, ZL, ZR). Playing Mario Maker on the Wii U gamepad was such a fun compared to the Switch. The screen was very responsible. The latency was very low. You could easily hold the gamepad in one hand, which is almost impossible with Switch.

I think the Wii U gamepad is overall a high quality product compared to the Wiimote or Joycons, though it's far away to be the best controller on earth.

Tie between joycon and Wii U gamepad

Hard choice I think it depends on what you were doing.

Like I enjoyed the Wii Remote for RE4, COD and other FPS

But at the same time it was fun playing COD on the Wii U gamepad against a mate in the same room where you chill and chat.

Well, one is the almost the entire reason for its system's success, one is almost the entire reason for its system's failure, and 1 greatly contributes to its system's success but doesn't deserve quite as much of the credit.

Wiimote Pros: Revolutionary for the time, pointer controls were divine, simple and comfortable, speaker tin the controller was awesome and sorely missed, very versatile in how it could be held/used.
Wiimote cons: Motion was limited in the base Wiimote and it needed an add-on and later redesign to achieve its full potential, annoying cord between remote and nunchuck, no rumble in nunchuck, lack of 2nd stick sometimes hurt camera controls.

Gamepad pros: Surprisingly comfortable, full of tech an options from all the buttons you could ever want, 2 control sticks, and a touch screen, off-tv play, asymmetric multiplayer and 2-screen gaming for some games, inventory/map freeing the tv screen from clutter.
Gamepad cons: Unnecessary and expensive, drove up price of console unnecessarily, developers including Nintendo struggled to find ways to use it effectively, so it never reached its potential, only 1 controller per console. Looked like a children's toy and so was unappealing to the market.

Joycon pros: Like a Wiimote-plus without any cords, full set of buttons and control sticks without sacrificing simplicity, HD rumble, ability to easily attack and detach from console is central to console's mass appeal.
Joycon cons: A bit too small, no sound, no IR pointer support hurts aiming controls compared to Wiimote, Joycon drift.

It's pretty close between the Wiimote plus and the joycons for me. The joycons are an upgraded version of the Wiimote in many respects, but there's a trade-off - hd rumble for speakers in the controller, slightly improved motion controls for IR pointer, second control stick for smaller controller overall.

The gamepad was a bad idea. It was innovation for innovation's sake without any real idea of how it would improve things. It ultimately added the least to the gaming experience since so few games used it in any meaningful way, and it dragged the console down with it.

Since it's so close between the Wiimote and Joycons I'm going to give it to the Wiimote for nostalgia's sake. Nothing is ever going to compare to the first time I played tennis and golf in Wii Sports or aimed the bow with the pointer in Twilight Princess, steered by turning the controller in Excite Truck, or experienced how fluid FPS aiming could be in Prime 3. As cool as 'clicking' the joycons in to take the Switch out for handheld play is, it isn't as magical as those moments were.