Console fanatics that do or don't play console FPS? Big difference. Because "My mates found it pretty **** to play on controllers, though, certainly. Goes for most FPS's on controllers, really. Very unwieldy, and less precision than a mouse, plus fewer hotkeys." doesn't sound like it.
I know exactly how you feel, though. I absolutely HATED the Goldeneye experience when I first tried it (having never played a console FPS before). It took me a decent while to play properly with the 360 controller. At this point, I'm comfortable enough with it to consider it second-nature, just as KB/M would be. Dying never happens *because* of the controls.