The off-center, forward position sensor takes some time to adjust to. Since you don't like it, you could try the G400s since the shape is kind of similar. The G400s uses optical sensor (which is basically just as good as laser sensor).
Not many palm grip mice for those with large hands, especially really large hands like yours. You basically have to to get a gaming mouse for fingertip or claw grip if you have larger hands.
What mice do you use (and in the past)? Was...
I put a really noisy hard drive on top of some foam padding. The only problem with that is how the hard drive is not securely attached to the case, so you cannot really move your case around if you do this.