[flimsypremise]

The big benefit of something like a pi is that it offers the flexibility of a linux-bootable computer with the IO pin interface of an MCU. That being said, maybe there's a cheap, easy way to get a GPIO interface on a NUC? I know there are USB to GPIO boards you can buy, but I have no idea how easy they are to use, and what the drawbacks might be. There are also extremely expensive GPIO interfaces that negate the cost-savings of using a cheap NUC.