OP, are you still looking for a suitable joystick / HOTAS? Like you I started out with the Thrustmaster HOTAS for my pc, and I note you mentioned upthread you would prefer to have the units connected if possible.
After some advice on this forum and others I bought the VKB Gladiator NXT, and added the VKB THQ throttle quadrant and SEM side extension module. These all fit together to form one unit rather like the Thrustmaster HOTAS, except much more solid and stable. The joystick itself comes with a metal base plate and you can buy metal linking plates for the other two units, to add even more weight and stability. These are not essential but they are also cheap, so I went with them.
The only downsides for me with this setup has been the need to pay additional import charges to the UK (although this was easily handled through UPS), and some initial issues with the VKB software for setting up and calibrating the device. At first I found it unintuitive and very complex, but there is a very helpful support forum and lots of videos on the VKB YouTube site to walk you through the various processes. I am very glad I stuck with it and kept trying - the software is logical and I now find it easy enough to use, but the stick and module combination itself is out of this world in comparison to the old Thrustmaster.
The physical quality of the stick and the side modules is a huge leap over my old device, and I do much better in the sim due to the additional buttons falling logically to hand and the stick movement being much smoother and more precise. It has axes to spare that can be allocated to various functions as you see fit, and you can change the number of detents in the flaps and landing gear sliders, or remove them altogether. It’s really customisable and future proof, and was only about GBP 50 more than the X-56. Very glad to have made the change.