Other than the un-official patches, what mods would you recommend for an improved vanilla experience?

I’ll probably use Realistic Lighting, maybe CoT, maybe Frostfall and Immersive Needs (I like needing to eat)... what others would you suggest that would keep the game close to vanilla?

If it matters my PC can run Ultra settings easy, but the last time I tried an ENB my frame rate bottomed out...

Mods that adds in lore-friendly magic + adds in old/classic artifacts that can be in Skyrim.

Well, there's SkyUI.

When you say vanilla, what do you mean? Keeping the core gameplay intact?

There's always Immersive Weapons and Armor, and Interesting NPCs add a lot of new people to talk to, fully voiced.

Skyrim Redone is an overhaul mod that, in my opinion, changes the game into what Bethesda SHOULD have released.

immersive first person view
Convenient Horses
UFO
Skimpy "armour"

Can you list some specific mods I should check out?

Yes, when I left Skyrim a half year ago after 700 hours and never even finishing the MQ I was running 70+ mods... I think a more Vanilla “canon” play-through might be a good reboot for me, so I am planning a character based on the trailers, basically a non-magic using Nord... Interesting NPCs is a good one, I should reload that... Immersive Weapons & Armor seemed a bit to much (overshadows vanilla game gear quite a bit)... I want to actually be excited about weapons like Dawnbreaker...

This mod, from what I’ve read would be the opposite of “vanilla”... maybe “chocolate” Skyrim? Just changes way to much for me to feel like I experienced classic Skyrim...

Thanks for the suggestions so far, please keep adding actual mods that wouldn’t take to much away from vanilla., like whats the best water mod out there right now? Texture mods that are not too resource dependant also would be helpful... and I’ll get Better Skill Books... really liked that mod...

I just tried IFPV because I was hoping for some solid FP horseriding... I couldn’t get over the jumpiness of the default settings or spend the time tweaking everything in that complex mod to get to where I wanted it... Convenient Horses and UFO are great suggestions! I’ll keep those on my list...

I don't play on PC so don't know any specific mod names...

However, I do know there is a series of mods which brings back artifacts from previous titles, including Chrysamere. (Best holy/paladin weapon).

For IFPV I leave everything except for the setting that changes the jumpyness. I set it to 15 for all except sprinting (20), sneaking (10), archery and magic (0).

Edit: I have the FOV set to 85 for all of the options.

On the topic of FP horse-riding, anyone know a mod or console setting that could just let me zoom in closer to my character? The minimum camera distance is quite far away IMO...