Agree with you completely about the stock CXC remote, it's almost useless. This is probably not exactly what you're looking for but for my CXC I use the "DVD" channel on an older Sony RM-VL700S programmable remote. It's considerably larger than a Roku remote but is very nicely designed in a perfect shape to fit comfortably in the hand.
I used it in "learning" mode to teach the main commands by pairing individual buttons on the CXC remote with appropriate buttons on the Sony. It requires several steps, one step at a time but you have to do it only once. It will control power on and off, play and stop, next track and previous track, just the commands I normally require.
But you can teach any button on the Sony the function of any button on the CXC regardless of whether the labels match, as long as you remember the ones that don't match.
That model Sony is long out of production but used ones are available on ebay. I like it because it's the only programmable remote I found that fits well in my hand with the buttons right under my thumb.
I used it in "learning" mode to teach the main commands by pairing individual buttons on the CXC remote with appropriate buttons on the Sony. It requires several steps, one step at a time but you have to do it only once. It will control power on and off, play and stop, next track and previous track, just the commands I normally require.
But you can teach any button on the Sony the function of any button on the CXC regardless of whether the labels match, as long as you remember the ones that don't match.
That model Sony is long out of production but used ones are available on ebay. I like it because it's the only programmable remote I found that fits well in my hand with the buttons right under my thumb.