Many universal remotes have those 4 "color" buttons on them, all the way down to sub-$10 ones like
this one. There are also more deluxe universal remotes that can "learn" commands onto some or all buttons. So even if they lack the 4 color buttons, other buttons could "learn" to be those 4 color buttons. Such remotes can be handy if any link in your own chain doesn't support CEC or CEC doesn't work well with the various components in your own setup. With some programming, such remotes can basically replicate what CEC is supposed to do... as you wish it would do it.
AppleTV can
"learn" commands from just about any remote, so your existing remotes have a good chance at working as you wish. If your TV or other remotes have those buttons, use the AUX or similar mode and let your AppleTV learn the button pushes on that remote and then it can be your remote that also controls your AppleTV.
The usual casualty of going with ANY remote other than using Apples (or an iDevice) is you lose Siri voice command capability. So if that is important to you, you need to make the AppleTV remote work- or keep it (or an iDevice) handy for that one use. Personally, I rarely bother with Siri and favor a traditional remote- universal & learn with macros- from Universal Remote Control Inc.