That would imply that this is a PC Bug then. I’m on Windows 10 as are all of the other complainants. One of the Avid Moderators sent me a video of them using an Avid branded MC Control on the tracks page with no crashing. But they never told me HOW they were able to do this! iPad + Mac = no crashes makes sense.
If that, in fact, is the case, you should still consider the S3. There are lots of them for sale USED at roughly half the price of new. The S3 has several buttons and features not found on the Artist Series . People Say they only need this or that until they find out how convenient/inconvenient this or that actually is in practice. You will want those Control and Alt buttons! On Artist Series, you only get the Shift button. I have found this to be pretty inconvenient, as my goal was to NOT touch a mouse/trackball once I start working with the controller. This, of course isn’t possible. But the closer you can get to that realization, the more justification for the purchase in the 1st place.
Something else to consider. Good luck!