I usually GMOCcapy which works but is missing features and feels kind of dated. I have also used Probe Basic as well but had issues with new hardware getting some of the components to work.
Yes, I tried to go with probe basic as I know a couple of their team quite well. But in the end, it just was not workable for me on my hardware. I had a look at qtdragon and their recent developments were pretty gobsmacking. Chris (cmorley) has been fantastic and has fixed a couple of bugs I found and has been very patient teaching me how to congigure a custom panel. I think the next person needing a custom panel will find it much easier than I did with the changes made. Hopefully, my GUI will be finished in the next couple of days and then a 1080p panel monitor on order should finish it off.
I have used gmoccappy in the past with a touch screen and a 21 inch monitor. I was frustrated by the distance your habd had to travel on startup (power on, home all etc) as controls were so far away and often on different tabs. I think qtdragon on a 1080p monitor will be the standard moving forward and knock axis off its perch...
TP