usb stick vs hdd going forward (also which variety of ubuntu linux?)

I am small scale on my 3rd rig, but want to standardize everything, and ultimately realized right away that it would run more smoothly if I switched over fully to Linux. To be clear I am NOT interested in simplemining, ethos, pimppos, etc, but a standard ubutu (of one variety or another) installation that I set up specific to my needs. I am comfortable with Linux & Windows, and command line interface, etc.

Anyways, this will never be a huge farm, maybe 6-10 rigs max, 7/8gpu's each...similar but not identical hardware. I don't need to network boot the os or anything like that.

I currently can order refurbished western digital 7200rpm 250gb hdd's for under $15, and 64gb-128gb usb sticks for about the same price or not much more. ssd's are not on the table, as I am willing to be patient waiting for reboot/etc during setup.

Which would you go with if you wanted to standardize everything?

Currently I have 1 rig running on Windows 10, nicehash (for testing/optimizing gpu's) and the other 2 on Ubuntu server, w/ multipoolminer / miningpoolhub. I want the Linux installation flexible to use different mining software if I choose, for multiple coins.

I know there will be some manual work required to configure each rig. And I have already (mostly) figured out gpu tweaking in Ubuntu without the help of afterburner etc, so that big hurdle is (mostly) past.

I know I should be able to set up/clone hdd's easily, but I am not quite as familiar with which Linux distros are best to run on a usb stick, and which are easiest to set up in "persistence" mode on a usb stick. I would have extras (a backup of the drive on hand), ready to swap out if I ran into problems, either with hdd or usb stick.

ANY thoughts or advice very greatly appreciated! Thank you