This paper addresses the stability and performance enhancement of bilateral teleoperation systems subject to communication delays. We propose a systematic design methodology for delay-based controllers, including a proportional–delayed ( \(P\delta \) ) and a proportional–integral–delayed ( \(P^2\delta ^2I\) ) scheme, to achieve precise kinematic correspondence and high transparency between local and remote devices. By leveraging \(\sigma \) -stability theory, we characterize the roots of the closed-loop characteristic quasipolynomials and establish stability regions in the controller parameter space. The methodology includes a stepwise tuning procedure that guarantees a prescribed exponential decay rate while accounting for communication-induced delays. Stability crossing curves and crossing directions are employed to identify robust regions of operation, ensuring the system remains in the left-half complex plane. Numerical examples demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, highlighting improvements in transient response and damping compared to classical proportional–delayed controllers. The results provide a practical framework for designing teleoperation controllers that reconcile stability, transparency, and responsiveness under realistic delay conditions.