I am looking to purchase grand theft auto and possibly call of duty, what kind of remote should I be in the market for? I will be playing on thinkpad and/or dell latitude (old school). Any help is appreciated, lmk if any other info is needed to help! Thanks in advance!

xbox controller

Basically this or anything that u feel comfortable using.

This. I use ps4

I have a ps3 controller I use for casual gaming. But to be honest I got tired of getting my ass kicked In competitive game's, so I forced myself to get good with a mouse and keyboard. Nothing beats the response of a good mechanical keyboard.

But if you need a controller, I'd go for an xbox360 or ps3. If you want wireless the xbox dongle is kind of expensive compared to an average bluetooth.

And I'm pretty sure latency and stuff is the same?

thats fine and all but the game was designed for a controller. (GTA)
its super shitty using a keyboard and mouse on that game even after rebinding.

rebinding?
what is a rebind going to do for response and mapping, those are based on personal preference. its not like my d in the f spot is going to make any difference. its the same key. different spot. unless your using a handbuilt board with different style keys in different places (ie: wasd= cherry red, space/enter/shift= cherry blue)
yes driving in the game is a bit annoying on a keyboard. (but play with your vehicle and walking sensitivity)
as i had said (I) play racing games with a controller over a m+kb, but isnt this evident? thats why controllers/keyboards/simwheels are made.
"specified preferences based on game" = a need for both m+kb and a gamepad (obviously)

so now that we have established that any type of controller is based 80% on personal preference according to game, lets answer the question... no one has marked me on my latency comment so id have to assume thats true (i really dont know) SO GET WHATS CHEAP AND COMFY

and on the other hand these new optical keyboard switches register pressure vs a press. (it measures the distance of the keys from its origin point) so with this type of keyboard you would get similar movement to a controller. based on similar technology

yes but we're not all 5 years old with fresh impressionable motor skills that will allow us to develop an affinity for pressure-sensitive keys quickly enough that they don't interfere with our enjoyment of the game. Personally I grew up with the n64/xbox...
is it really worth becoming accustomed to it when controllers are an option? Seeing as I can't think of a useful application for pressure sensitive keyboards outside of gaming.

I highly prefer Xbox One Controller over PS3/4 controllers.

true, and a very good point, im still pretty young so id never have thought of that. what so ever.
thats why i say go with whats comfy because it all boils down to personal preference. (untill you hit competitive gaming, then its honestly up to you to evolve or deal with what you have, we do it subconsciously anyways with the rest of our hardware)
the optical switches were more of a last minute add on, but actually kind of relateable to people who want to minimize clutter. SOME people wouldn't mind learning to control a few of their keys in order to ditch a few gadgets. ( i saw it had helpful application in media editing, being able to navigate through timelines a bit easier)

but 99% of all of this is irrelevant because hes playing on a laptop. which would also help to know if this set up was docked with an external gpu? but depending on the model im not sure if either of those have a usb c or thunderbolt, so it would have be open on a desk or something, which if you were wireless you could only see from so far away. id assume an optimal line of sight on a 17-23 inch screen is like 10 feet at max and that's seriously pushing it, so id personally stick with wired and save 15-30$ on a dongle. which in that case all controllers will be pretty much plug and play. (ps3&ps4 need the 3rd party software) so its honestly ease of access to you. if you would rather not set anything up, get an xbox controller. 360 is cheaper, "one" is more comfortable. if you have an old ps3/ps4 controller and cable lying around, go grab it; set it up once and dont worry about it again.