I use Energizer lithium for remote controls. They last for ever.
For thermostats they last over five years.
Rechargeable should work well also.
I doubt you would see rechargeable batteries leak. Possible, yes, likely no.
Then again someone wone the $2B lottery and here we are talking about lithium batteries.
I agree with everyone…good NiMH low discharge cells and you should be fine. The only slight concern is if ambient temperatures are typically high then the cells may lose a little more of their charge over that long pause and they may start to “wear out” a little sooner, but you should still get lots of cycles and years of use even if that’s the case. The lithium metal cells are great and although I’ve seen some photos of them leaking, it’s possible those were fakes but there was no additional info on those. I’ve never had any of those leak and I’ve kept some in the car where summer temps often hit 60°C+ with the windows rolled up.
I have actually had some NiMH cells “leak” but it wasn’t anything like alkaline and there was no damage to contacts. Those were 15 years ago, maybe closer to 20, and some of the early crappy Energizer AAA that had been allowed to self discharge for a long time, were revived, and put into low drain use. I also had one early Duracell about that same time period that leaked but it was all contained under the wrapper. I was never sure what could have caused it other than some chemistry change from sitting discharged (and that Duracell was also often left on a dumb trickle charger for days on end….ugh).
Only downsides of NiMh are:
1) cells being ruined from being drained completely flat by low current devices.
2) (very) slightly lower voltage, meaning some devices don’t like them.
Are all alkalines like this or there are top-quality alkalines that are less likely to leak?
We have 32C - 37C and 75–80 humidity here in summer not far from coast. These were probably the main factors contributing t to internal circuit board and components oxidation in some areas inside the AC remote control.
60C+ where is this?
I still have these from early 2010s. Bought them for digital camera but was disappointed how they would self-discharge the next day being used or unused.
I'm sure that some alkalines are more likely to leak than others, but if you hate an electronic device, tell it that you hate it by installing some "alkaleak" batteries in them.
In other words, leaking is what all alkaline batteries are famously known for.
It's just a matter of time before any specific brand of alkaline batteries will eventually leak.
I never had NIMH leak. I have a case with NiCD batteries which get tiny amount of white oxide on negative pole but it isn’t destructive and it is easy for cleaning.
I have many cases and destroyed devices from alkaline leaks but I have never a case that Maxell batteries leaks, alkaline or zinc carbon.
That’s been asked. Unfortunately no ‘good/reliable’ answer. Brands that seemed solid 5-10 years ago may not be anymore.
There seems to be a consistent trend to cheapen a lot of products to the point that they start to fail. I call it engineering and manufacturing by stupidity+greed+world economic forces.
As you already found out, the Camelions are crap. Pretty much any NiMh that advertises capacity above 2500mAh are not good. Even the ‘good ones’ like Eneloop that have 2450mAh don’t last nearly as long as the 2000mAh cells. This is a known fact even Eneloop admits.
Fujitsu,made in Japan.
Yes, just put 2 Eneloops in and everything will be fine 
Yup, some remotes are picky and will not work with lower voltage cells, like partially discharged NiMH, which means you’ll end up having to recharge them sooner. It’s worth a try though.
I’m using the Tenavolts AA Li-Ion cells in my universal remote that gets the most usage in the household. They maintain steady 1.5V output throughout the entire discharge cycle. Alas, these are not cheap and require a proprietary charger. It may be cheaper for the OP to just buy some regular Lithium AA/AAA cells instead.
I’m also trying that out. Alas, the special deals that were on when these first came out has not been seen for well over a year. A couple other brands I’ve tried (USB charge), weren’t nearly as good.
When they ‘go’, they are……gone. 0 volts until charged.
For properly chosen applications, I like them, but, at the old cost. 
I have had all of them that I have used leak. Duracell, Eveready, Rayovac, and maybe worst the Kirkland cells from Costco.
Just the other day I opened a box that had 16 Duracell AAAs n it. They had never been used and stored at right around 20 C. 15 to 25% humidity. In a dark area inside a dry cardboard box. Every darn one of them showed signs of leakage. EVERY ONE!
This after about 3 years… they are advertised to have a 10 year shelf life.
I don’t use any of them unless it is for an application where I will use a device that quickly drains them fully, then take them out.
Those are not Low Self Discharge (LSD) cells. Which is what you need for something like a remote. Eneloop claims they will hold 85% charge after a year or two.
If you go NiMH, make sure you get LSD cells. NON LSD cells often have higher capacity ratings, but they are basically charge and use immediately cells.
I have NiMH cells in a dozen remotes, they all work fine. Over the years I have used them in at least a dozen more. There may be exceptions, of course, but not enough that it is not worthwhile trying the Eneloops for the OP.
I only use my AC remote in summer. In winter it snows here, so I put pieces of paper between the batteries and the contact points. This saves me from removing the batteries and storing them separately.
Im using cheap Alkaleaks without issue, as they dont make contact for 9 months out of the year. Been using the same Alkaleaks for 2 years now.
otoh, NiMh also work fine, but they need to be LowSelfDischarge type, as in Eneloop, not the old type that have HighSelfDischarge
Lithium primaries also work fine, they just cost more…
Eneloops.
That is all.
That brings up and interesting question, and an observation;
My vote> you’re lucky.
After all, it seems to be a very limited experiment, and they don’t leak ALL the time, just too damn frequently.
I think, Just Lucky! The cells I had in the box were not connected to anything. They ALL leaked all over themselves. 
I had to pitch 16 relatively new cells.
But, for some reason the original batteries that I have gotten for radios and remotes… mostly no name cells (likely zinc chloride) , have fared much better than the supposedly high quality name brand alkaline cells…
??
I’ve never had a problem with a lithium primary, but don’t use many. I’m still barely started on an AA 8-pack purchased over a decade ago. Zero experience with AAA lithium primary.
Lithium ion cells have failed, but never leaked or caught fire.
I’ve had lithium poly lose lots of capacity and get puffy, but never worse than that before I disposed it them.
Alkalines have leaked in storage after partial usage and in devices, although so far no completely unused alkalines have leaked.
NiMh have never leaked. AAA’s are more problematic, and although none have become completely worthless, the capacity and self drain is terrible, often so bad that it’ll only charge if I partially charge it by shorting it with another AAA. I only keep those bad AAA’s (Energizer, GP, AmazonBasics) around as a sort of experiment. “9V” hasn’t been great either, and I want to say those were Tenergy. The exception so far is Eneloop and Fujitsu AAA’s. The only AA’s that have experienced terrible capacity is the ones that came with my old Garmin. Most are nearly a decade old, some are over 15 years old. My conclusion is that nimh AAA’s really need to be high quality or they won’t last long.