Man, I swear the most irritating part of being a pad player has to be finding a pad that won't break down after a month or two of use. I've tried several options. The Hori 4, Hori Fighting Commander and the SFV MadCatz pad with the improved dpad. None have lasted more than the 3 months of continuous usage. I'd use a PS4 controller, but the dpad is not ideal for me and the shoulder buttons are not as sensitive as I would like.
I'd honestly pay good money for a controller of decent build quality and a circular dpad.