Sell Thrustmaster, buy VKB. This is the way.
In all seriousness, I have the STECS and it is very good indeed. I previously had the Gladiator NXT with SEM, THQ and FSM GA panels attached, but the STECS adds a lot more options and feels very much better in use.
The STECS allows a lot more functions to come together in one place, for engines (obviously), ignition, fuel pumps, battery, alternators, etc etc… I haven’t mapped every button on it as yet, but I have been finding it useful for some aspects of visual control - the hats on the joystick I use for quick look left/right/up/down and translating inside the cockpit if necessary, and on the STECS I have two buttons for head tracking on/off and reset view.
I should add that as a throttle it is superb. Calibration, damping, setup is all easy and the variable detents are really nice to have and simple to swap around. There are enough controls on it that you can simultaneously bind all the specific functions to an appropriate button, rocker, hat, slider or rotary for everything from a warbird throttle to an airliner.