The Joycons are really just WiiMote version 2. I loved the Wiimotes in their time and like the Joycons now. They added new dimensions to interface. The Wii remotes added the motion controls and the IR aiming, the Joycons retained all that, got rid of the wire when in dual mode, and added simple hybridization to the Switch.

I didn’t like the Gamepad. It was bulky and somehow felt too small to hold correctly at the same time. The asymmetric gameplay was a flop, and forcing players to look at two completely disconnected screens on certain games was intrusive. Also one Gamepad per console. The overly high price of the Wii U seems due to the Gamepad, and this hurt Nintendo commercially.

Not sure if the Gamepad is my least favourite controller of all time, but it is down there.

For me the Joycons feel like one step forward one step back as a progression of the Wiimote. Having no wire, equal motion controls on both hands, and two analogue sticks are improvements, but the loss of IR aiming and a less ergonomic form factor make put them slightly below the Wiimote overall.

As for the Gamepad, while I never found it cumbersome as some did, its short battery life and the fact the screen didn't add much to most games puts it in third place of the three for me.

The joycons were a great idea but the drift issue, as well as them just being very poor controllers in their own right (the analog sticks aren't very accurate) knock them down a few notches for me.

The Wii remote was also a great idea, but motion controls really only worked for me when they were paired with casual games like Wii Sports etc. When Nintendo tried forcing motion controls into games like Zelda and Mario? I was not very happy about that.

So I guess for me, I'd have to go with the Wii-U Gamepad. It had motion controls built in, but for the most part, they weren't default. It's massive size was a bit of a problem at times, but it wasn't so bad that you couldn't get use to it (see Splatoon 1 for an example of this). The screen in the middle also provided some really interesting gameplay ideas that I thought were pretty cool, like in Zombie-U when you used it to scan things and in the aforementioned Splatoon 1 where you used it to both squid jump and quickly see the map in real time. This last was so crucial to the game, that even with the vastly superior Pro Controller, Splatoon 2 still lags behind it when it comes to gameplay.

Overall though, I still think the NES and SNES controllers are Nintendo's best, followed by the Gamecube's. But if I had to pick out of the three mentioned above, it would have to be the Wii-U Gamepad.

That makes sense. I think how comfortable a controller is comes generally down to the user. I personally love the comfort of sitting back, feet up, Joy Con in one hand, Joy Con in the other, and just playing the games while staring up at the mounted living room TV. There's nothing quite like it.

I very much agree that the loss of the IR does feel like a step back. There are some things about the interface that don't feel quite as smooth as the Wii. But overall, Switch beats the Wii in some areas of interface, particularly with the task bar for core features rather than scrolling channels... but the IR would be that extra cheddar.

When it came to games and the IR, there are few experiences I can think of more satisfying than IR aiming headshots in Scarface: The World is Yours. Resident Evil 4 Wii edition is such a huge step over the PS2 and other versions because of the IR alone. Also, the IR rail shooters/light gun style games on the Wii are something I really miss (or would, if I didn't still play Wii from time to time). FPSs were a step up, but I didn't feel they brought the games to that (for lack of a better term) "being pleasantly high and biting into chocolate" feeling that headshots on the Wii third person shooters got.

That feature is something I hope comes back with the next gen Joy Cons.

Don't get me wrong, I don't find the Joycons uncomfortable, just not as comfortable as the Wiimote + Nunchuk, as they don't fit the contours of my hands as closely. I do still greatly appreciate being able to sit with my hands further apart than a "standard" controller though.

And yeah, the return of IR aiming is probably my biggest want from the next Nintendo system; I doubt it'll happen, but it was just so amazing and worked like absolute magic in games like Metroid Prime 3, RE4, Sin & Punishment 2, etc.

The step forward makes it totally worth it and outweighs the losses. You get a standard controller that can also be attached to the console to play it portably, and you can also use it more or less as a Wiimote + Nunchuck pair. It's a jack of all trades, and as such it's not perfect and specifically not very comfortable in neither of the three styles (I think if you have big hands, a case is absolutely mandatory to play the Switch in handheld mode, but thankfully they aren't expensive), but it gets the job done acceptably. The idea is mostly what makes it outstanding for me. 

While the Joycon's versatility is impressive, I only use them split in docked mode, so their other uses don't benefit me. They are still a cool controller, but the greater ergonomics and IR pointer of the Wiimote outweigh the second analogue stick and wirelessness of the Joycons for me.

I got big hands and I prefer the joy cons. Sure its small but u get use it and once u do its pretty good for gaming. Just a tad challenging for games like street fighter lol.

Wii remote was not good. There was too much lag when u had on rails game like the horro games or the dead space game