I mainly use a laptop, almost always hooked up to a monitor or two, keyboard and mouse. I have some beefy workstations available for computational stuff, but mostly easier to remote in or have an automation system send jobs there.

> but then it's just a desktop anyways.

So why not use a desktop? There are typically 3-4 distinct addresses I work at, and the value of just plugging in when I get there and having everything ready to go is high. I've tried basically every available approach to doing this with multiple workstations/desktops, and they all aren't as functional as just dragging my laptop between them...