I’m an avid trackpad user as well. It took some time adjusting from the Steam Controller to the Steam Deck but I’ve been comfortable using it for months now. I kind of hold it as if I had these grips attached: https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/wp90qa/steam_deck_grip_extensions_for_large_hands_and/. Most of my palm is empty. When I started I found it easier to hold it with the weight of the Deck supported by a stand or platform but now I mostly use it without anything else.

Worst case is you have to manually flash the BIOS chip with a previously saved backup using a chip programmer. It’s not fun but doable.

That doesn’t sound right to me. Do you have the gyro set to active on right joystick/trackpad touch? Could it be that you’re accidentally letting go of the right joystick/trackpad when moving too quickly?

The raw gyro output can be seen in the main settings controller calibration. Perhaps you could use that to see if it’s cutting out when moving quickly?

When I noticed high latency while docked it turned out to be a bunch of image processing settings on my TV that I had to turn off. Have you checked through your TV’s settings?

I do this with both trackpads all the time and love it (joystick on the left one and mouse on the right)! Here’s the best explanation I could find: https://youtu.be/wUkqtOb5sFk?si=5OwBSVbsN7DlJW_K.

Edit: it’s shown in the old BPM UI but the settings are analogous to the new UI.

This shows that switching to mangohud or DXVK_FRAME_RATE has less input lag than using the default gamescope: https://youtu.be/kRH6_tN8g38?si=t8Xf90K5k9afKyLd.

Use Steam Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/353380/Steam_Link/.

As someone who used a Steam Controller for years before the Deck I think it works great with it. It can connect via Bluetooth, wired or it’s dongle (if it comes with one).

It’s main strength is also it’s weakness. It’s highly customisable so you have to learn what it’s capable of and how best to use it in each situation.

Perhaps try limiting yourself to only using the inputs on the Deck that are available on the Steam Controller. The only thing that the Deck is lacking are proper dualstage triggers. I would have been happy if the inputs on the Deck were identical to the Controller but Valve knew a lot of people wouldn’t have been.