Mod suggestions, please?

Tried this someplace else, but all I got in response was "don't use Vortex", when I specifically said I don't wanna leave Vortex. For which, by the by, there's no real reason, other than me being a somewhat chronically low in energy lazy ass. Still, I humbly request to allow me to stick with what I know.

First off, is it safe yet to update the base game? I've forcibly held off on installing the last major update, because I saw a crapload of complaints about it... Really, I don't think I've ever seen so many complaints about an update before.

Regardless, I'm considering starting a new playthrough, and figured I could use an update to my mod list. But, since I'm a total amateur, and searching through Nexus mods can get rather boring and tedious, I figured I'd ask here for some advice for either some more fun / quality of life / additional content mods that are compatible with both SS2 and some of my other current mods. Or maybe someone here can suggest a better mod for something I'm already using. I dunno, just looking for all kinds of input, I guess... Since my mod list is somewhat extensive, I'll put it in the first comment.