Zorin is a desktop designed to bridge Windows to Gnome 3, and does a better job of it than Pantheon. And I'd argue KDE has a nearly identical UX to Windows in

Zorin is a desktop designed to bridge Windows to Gnome 3, and does a better job of it than Pantheon. And I'd argue KDE has a nearly identical UX to Windows in the first place. You can even get Windows-8-lite with Homerun. So if you want a fluid transition KDE is probably the best choice, as long as you don't overwhelm them with options (start menu, task bar, system tray, min / max / close in top right, have at it champ).