evil-emacs-state is annoying, the following function and hook automatically switches back to evil-normal-state whenever the evil-emacs-state is entered. It allows a more consistent navigation experience among all mode maps. To enter special commands of custom mode maps, just enter the insert mode :-)

evil-emacs-state-2-evil-normal-state.el

;; evil-emacs-state is annoying, the following function and hook automatically
;; switch back to evil-normal-state whenever the evil-emacs-state is entered.
;; It allows a more consistent navigation experience among all mode maps.
;; To enter special commands of custom mode maps, just enter the insert mode :-)
(defun evil-emacs-state-2-evil-normal-state ()
  (evil-normal-state)
  (remove-hook 'post-command-hook 'evil-emacs-state-2-evil-normal-state))
(add-hook 'evil-emacs-state-entry-hook
  (lambda ()
    (add-hook 'post-command-hook 'evil-emacs-state-2-evil-normal-state)))