@sunjammer: Every analog to digital converter control will have noise, but just looking at some of the raw data coming in from wii mote (vs joysticks/mice/older game pads) there is no question motion controls have to deal with tons more noise. Hell, we have high frequency physiological tremor built in when engaging musculature against gravity. Thumbsticks, mice, and joysticks dont have to deal with that.
This is subjective but having used gamepads/mice/steering wheels/flight joysticks, while their accuracy vs vive/rift is difficult to judge, I would say there is definitely latency. I haven't seen Rift/vive code but I have tried both (owned a vive for a while) and would bet a lot that its smoothing algorithms causing the latency. The issue is that the amount of displacement you need but being correctly recognized as NOT physiological tremor is like 2-3 frames slow (wiimotes are way slower/way noisier for comparison).
Breath of the Wild utilizes combination motion and thumb stick controls. There are certainly some fine motion controls that are easier to do with motion controls, so your base argument that thumb sticks have too little travel is absolutely valid, but the motion implementation thus far hasn't been good enough to have me keep it on.
On the other hand, games like Mario Kart can actually be better with motion controls, you get more degree of freedoms and since you know the tracks, the latency can easily be compensated for. Still the delay in executing flips with a waggle is very obvious.
Anyway, TLDR I agree that accuracy/precision issues aren't definitively a knock against all motion controls BUT they do have barriers that have yet to be proven can be overcome.
@sunjammer: sticks may have to deal with limited travel, but motion controls are generally even more limited. Internal motion sensors produce a lot of data noise even while held still, so the normalization data smoothing algorithms need time to recognize what is motion and what is not. The Wii/joycon sensors are also not very 1:1 in terms of reproducibility - exacerbated by high velocity and large displacement motions. There are precise motion controls in the works, such as the oculus touch controllers, using several light sensors that is nearly 1:1 position data with as little lag as they can muster. But that isn't what is being referred to when motion controls are categorized as imprecise.
But even more so from a big picture perspective, as organic beings, we will rarely be able to do the exact same motion twice. Thus digital controls will always feel more reproducable - and in common vernacular, precise.
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