17" is one of the larger screens Vraciu, you see a few 18 and very, very few specialty larger ones, but typically the 17.3" is the "big" ones. 15.6 looks plenty big enough up close to it, and you'll find it fits in a lot more bags/cases, and when on a plane it fits on the fold down table a lot better - just my experience.
Asus = the best ones IMO, but it's close, I've been happy with last year's laptop we bought, an MSI with a 1070 in it. Considering what games it was used for, a 1060 would have been enough probably, but having more doesn't hurt I guess.
Screen wise, try and get one with a 120hz and an IPS screen. iF $ is no matter, Gsync, 4k, 120hz capable systems are out there.
Shame you didn't post this a month ago, EVGA ran an Xmas special, almost bought one myself, great deal, it was only $1300 plus shipping for a 1070/SSD/15.6" 4k Gsync, 256 m.2 etc etc laptop, nearly $1400 off it was. I couldn't believe it, but it was legit, and by far the best deal I've seen on a gaming laptop. It's last year's model, with a 6820 CPU, but everything else is very current tech, probably why they blew them out I guess.
https://www.evga.com/products/product.aspx?pn=768-41-2633-T1Makes me wonder how much mark up there is on gaming laptops with such a deep cut for a holiday sale..
Anyhow, last couple things, IMO managing expectations with their performance is important, a 1060 in a laptop does not = a 1060 desktop, it could be argued in fact that you should expect the next step down in "number" in terms of fps performance. IE a 1070 latptop will run pretty close to your 1060 on a tuned in desktop. Just my experience with a bunch of different games. This is very general of course, there are many exceptions of course, but overall it's not an inaccurate comparison IMO.
Lastly, although I came to dislike most of their stuff, Razer makes a great little gaming laptop depending on what exactly you're after. Their Blade series are fantastic if you want/need something small - ie if you fly a lot (you're a pilot IIRC, right), and size is a big issue for fitting it in your carry on stuff, they are hard to beat. MSI has their new "Stealth" line coming, which are a lot lighter and thinner than the rest of their gaming line, but they are still 15.6", so the dimensions in that area aren't any smaller, unlike the Razer Blade models.
Last thing - battery life. If you need to be "plug free", don't expect much with the Asus, MSI, etc. I can't speak to the Evgas but they'll be similar I'm sure. The Razer Blades have really decent life from all I've read, but again, smaller screen, less performance/power reqs/etc. Just don't expect to play games for 10 hours, or even more than 3, without plugging in if you get even a mid grade gaming laptop in terms of capability - they eat power fast.
Avoiding gimmicks - tough to do, every manufacturer is all aboard the RGB train, so expect that crap on virtually all of them. Just disable what you don't like, as everyone has said already, as it'll be tough to get a decent true gaming unit without at least some of that BS installed/equipped on it.
If you can, find a PC gaming shop that carries a variety of models - if you ever fly into Calgary check out Memory Express, I've been going there since the 90s, and they'll have all the above on display at one of their 3 stores. It's the best way to size them up. Even Staples often has a bunch of the Asus and MSI units out on display - I downloaded AH3 once on to a 1050ti equipped Asus in a shop there to see how it ran offline (I was impressed and so was the sales kid who had nothing better to do).
