Yeah! Emulators work great! I almost only play emulators. Just about every popular emulator is also on Linux. There is nothing you will miss out on.

My switch pro controller, and Xbox one controller, connect without any problems. Most controllers should work fine, but I can’t speak from experience.

Just get Linux Mint. They have 4 versions, but the cinnamon version is their flagship. Its layout is decently similar to windows.

Linux mint is often referred to as a beginner distro, but there is nothing you can’t do on it that another distro can do.

I have had a few Linux servers for work and personal stuff, and I still use Linux mint.

If you have any more questions please let me know. I’m happy to help.