I wonder if Dragon's Dogma is better with Keyboard/Mouse or Controller for a first playthrough. This will be a tough one.
Do a combo!
KBAM gets item hotkeys (I think 3 or 4) but the game can switch around.
I think the ideal way will be with a DS4 with DS4windows, and program 1-4 to swipe left, swipe up, etc on the touchpad.