Crowdsec will block external, public, IPs
Fail2Ban will block login attempts (ie from anywhere)
I have a similar setup with pfSense, pfBlockerNG, HAProxy, etc, but I keep F2B running on my DMZ server in case something is ever compromised as it'll block / slow down anyone trying to move around the network.
My choice is Arch Linux purely because it's bleeding edge
I've no idea if Arch actually has newer drivers than Debian / Fedora, but if they are you'll (usually) get better support from the developers of whatever application / package - or in your case - drivers that you're facing.
It's more involved than "just" installing Debian, etc... but reading through the Arch Linux wiki as you install will (should) ensure you've got the correct drivers setup and you'll know why they're working.
So... it'll be more effort, but you might get "better" results.