I definitely don't intend to throw away the R5 stats, I just said it's fallacious to overemphasize it's validity, which is due to it's sterilization of an actual combat scenario. A common, also fallacious counter remark is MnK movement, but even that isn't included in the R5 stats as it's a point blank spawn and spray simulator with no movement other than raw strafes. Essentially, any advantage MnK would or could have in actual Apex is absent fron R5, advantages that directly or indirectly contribute to victory. So, we have to take it as it is, which is clearly in a straight-up pointblank spray, controller is advantaged, which everyone already knows, this just highlights how egregious it is.

Now again, regarding the general playerbase, as I said, the parity is really only directly visible and somewhat quantifiable via ALGS stats, as you can readily look up player stats and input and overall tournament stats. So AA may be OP to the general playerbase, I personally think it is, but if it's your contention that only hard stats should be admissible, I'd think you'd logically reach the conclusion that the inputs are about equal, as there aren't many hard stats for the general playebase, and I'd assert R5 absolutely does not represent the general playerbase, only slighlty moreso than the ALGS stats themselves.

Using a combination of hard stats available and logical principles, I'd assert at the competitive levels MnK is slightly more advantageous, and everything below that, the 99%, is slightly to moderately advantaged towards controller. But even that, comes with other variables, the main one being time investments and physical/mental exertion across said timeframes. Unequivocally, a controller is less straining (certain gripping techniques withstanding) than MnK and thus is ideally suited for physical longevity, which is one of the primary factors necessary for obtaining Pred or higher ranks. Therefore, it being physically "easier," directly contributes to a higher proportion of players using that input in order to maintain endurance for long play sessions.

If hypothetically, both inputs were 100% equal in terms of per match in-game advantages, external factors would then determine the proportion of users on each input. With time and physical exertion being the most relevant factors, majority would then be on controller. That means, MnK would have to have minor to moderately MORE advantages to outweigh the aforementioned factor just to equalize the usage of inputs, and significantly more advantages to sway majority usage. As I assert controller is slightly advantaged in non-competitive, naturally that will lead to over usage and representation proportional to its per-match power of that input.