Man this thread is making me mad so I'mma head out

Any controller using Bluetooth.

Worst controller? Eh, I have controllers I don't like. N64 controller. Original Xbox controller. Dreamcast controller. But are they the worst? Idk. Maybe I just didn't have a whole lot of experience with any of those (didn't own any of those consoles).

Maybe the Wiimote. Like I get the idea, but as a dedicated controller, meh. Same with the Switch Joycon; maybe even more so. I have a Pro controller because the Joycons just don't cut it. When they're attached to the Switch, they're OK, but not as individual controllers.

Switch controller hands down— the drift is annoying, but the worst is when half your controller just disconnects

The very worst controller I've ever used was this no-name joystick in the 90s. You had to grip like a claw, which looked kind of cool and futuristic but was awful in use. The base was tiny and it had these suction cups that didn't work at all.
But the very very worst thing about it, was that the input was binary! It was either on or off, no gradual movements or anything. Basically it was an oversized d-pad.

I borrowed it from a friend so I could try Rebel Assault, which looked so awesome what with CD-ROMs being a new thing. But that joystick ruined the experience so much! Try flying a ship through a canyon when all you can do is hard turns in 8 different directions. I constantly crashed within the first 10 seconds of the game and kept thinking it was my fault for being a crap player.
I still hate that monstrosity with every fiber of my being.

Hot take: Nintendo Switch Joycons. They're a nice and clever concept but in reality they're bad.

Too small even for casual games. The Wiimote was much better at it.

Very expensive at 80 € per set. Yes, you get two of them but in most games outside of Mario Kart you also need both. And even then they're fine at best.

4 out of 4 of my controllers got stick drift. Nintendo had to be sued into repairing them.

Those roll-up dance mats from the old ps2 dance dance revolution style games. They were unreliable as all hell.

I switched from Xbox 360 controllers to PS5 controllers (on pc). They weigh at least twice as much and the battery maybe lasts 4 hours if you're lucky.

Every madcatz controller I've used has been terrible. Xbox, Dreamcast, and PSone. Just terrible.

Back in the early 90s, here in the UK, a company called Cheetah produced licensed joysticks based on Batman, Terminator, Alien³ and The Simpsons. They looked great but they were terrible to use, especially the Alien³ model which I really liked but was incredibly uncomfortable. I never bought one, just tried then on the shops, awful things.

Xbox Series X/S.

It isn't even particularly bad by itself, but compared to its predesessors (Xbox One and Xbox 360) the Xbox Series X/S gamepad is a clear step back when it comest to build quality (just try pressing the D-Pad buttons without thinking "this is cheaply made"), and that comparison is what makes me hate it.

And what adds insult to injury is that the quite expensive Elite version of the controller is just as cheaply built as the regular model...

Probably that first NES controller.. Those corners were hell on the palms.

Any controller that has asymmetrical joysticks. I get they’re all copying Xbox, Xbox was wrong.

If you’re using one to look around and one to move, having them require your hands be in two different positions is dumb.

The Ouya

The original Xbox controller for the North American release. I swear it was made for Paul Bunyan it was fucking massive.

Official Microsoft controllers were absolute peak with the Xbox 360...

...but modern Microsoft Xbox controllers have absolute dogshit build quality. Just the worst, constantly breaking for no reason. I'm just done with Xbox controllers because old DualShock 4's are cheap and quality.

Aside from broken controllers, which I don't think can reasonably count, the Atari 2600 joystick.

One button, a lot of resistance to push on the stick.

After that, an elderly Logitech gamepad from the 1990s that had a D-pad that rolled diagonal way too easily. IIRC it had a screw-in mini-joystick that could attach to the center of the D-pad. Don't remember the model. White case, attached directly to a joystick/MIDI port.

After that, I think the NES controller. I have no idea why people like those or actually buy recreations. Yes, nostalgia, but the ergonomics on it were terrible. Hard buttons, sharper corners on the D-pad than is the norm today, and a squared-off controller made the thing downright uncomfortable to use for long periods of time.