So, I tried D1X-Rebirth and an XBox-style controller. This is by far the best Descent experience I had so far. Normal FPS controls using the two analog sticks, one trigger for up, one for down, the remaining to for firing primary and secondary.
I put roll on the DPad, because roll really isn’t that important during combat but without it, navigation can become a bit tedious. Interestingly, the remaining buttons are just enough for all the remaining flight and combat controls (switch primary + secondary (DPad up/down), rear view (right thumb push), mini map, flare, drop bomb (A/B/X).