As powerful as Catalyst is, it is not a dedicated piece of software running exclusively on a single purpose hardware device.

The V16 is a dedicated device with dedicated control of automation. V16 is designed to control automation. There are others comparable. The pharos controller Simon mentioned is actually a good choice.

Think of Catalyst more as a tool to be controlled instead of a tool to control. It's true power is more that it's diversely subordinate to more intelligent control devices.