A few thoughts from a 15 year arcade veteran;
Fighting game and or multiplayer build:
Full sized machine;
Use IL Lorenzo sticks and happ buttons with the smallest gram micro switch you can find.
Sit down cab, or shmups build;
Use sanwa sticks and semitsu buttons.
4 way vertical build for classics that use 4 way sticks:
Find an original 4 way Nintendo joystick, or a 4 way gate and sanwa joystick, or a 4 way ms Pac-Man joystick, use leaf switch buttons.
Check paradise arcade, groovygamegear, arcadeshop, mikes arcade.
.………
If you want to play certain games perfectly, you just have to spend time with the emulator of choice and tweak it. Or research MiSTer fpga hardware emulation, or install original equipment. If you just have to go software emulation; use a PC with some sort of video card, if you just have to use Raspberry pi; get the best one.