The microcontrollers to avoid and what to consider instead:

1. ESP8266 → ESP32-C3
2. PIC16 → ARM Cortex-M0+, STM32C0, TI’s MSPM0
3. Ultra-Cheap No-Name MCUs → something with better doco and support, such as STM32C0 or TI’s MSPM0
4. STM8 → STM32C0
5. MSP430 → TI’s MSPM0
6. ATmega328P → newer MCUs in AVR family
7. Overpriced High-End MCUs → consider microprocessor instead