I have not  found the ideal

I have not  found the ideal situation yet.  Even with the great Harmony One remote it was nice, but I wanted to same remote for all TVs in the house since they were all on Media Center.  So I opted to buy a bunch of the original MS Media Center remotes.  I think they are the best remote out there for a media center only environment.  SIMPLE.  My wife loves that the number of buttons are minimized.  You can simply do all you need while in MC. 

For doing things outside MC I used a full media center keyboard for a long time.  I find the nub control of the cursor slow and painful and handling the big keyboard is cumbersome.  I noted one day most of the time I am not typing at all.  I just needed to point and click most of the time.  This is how I landed on the little Lenovo.  It serves the point and click need very well.  Fits perfectly in the palm of my hand.