Suggestions for an NC Backstop Controller for a Shear

I've been working on a project for a while to retrofit a shear with some electronics to control the backstop. I was writing some arduino-type code to handle the movement logic and interface logic, but I haven't gotten very far considering the amount of time I've been working on it, and I've gotten rather busy and this project has been moved to the backburner. In the interest of getting it done, I'd like to find a solution that doesn't require me to write a bunch more code.

The requirements are:

• Needs to handle backlash. The shear doesn't have a lot of places to attach linear rails or anything, so the easiest way to incorporate the system is to just use the rack and pinion adjustment mechanism already in place, but that means the controller needs to be able to compensate for backlash.
• 2 independent motor controllers. It would be a big hassle to tie the two sides together, and could interfere with the function of the backstop, so both sides need independent motor control so homing offsets can be applied individually. If both sides use the same control signal, they would drift eventually and be quite annoying to fix by the operator.
  
• Simple user interface. It only needs to move to a position and hold that position, and also re-home on startup/for calibration.
• Use stepper motors. We are trying to keep it relatively simple and inexpensive. Plus we already have brackets made for the motors.

I was looking for firmware that supports most of this, and Marlin seems to have backlash compensation, and (obviously) it supports stepper motors, and it can be configured to use 2 axes as one iirc. The only thing missing is a simple interface. If someone knows of a configurable keypad with display I could use with arduino, a keypad that sends g-code for single axis control, or even a whole system that meets my requirements better I'd really appreciate the tip.