I used to be more active in this area but I stopped playing Skyrim. Dragonborn looks interesting enough that I might give it another go. Even if it will take another month or so for us to get the DLC.

I could search through mods and find them on my own but I am curious as to what OTHER people here on this forum would recommend for this type of mod request.

What are some mods that enhance the vanilla experience as opposed to changing it? Like things that add more variety to mobs, weapons and Armor. Gameplay balancing mods. Lore friendly and sensical monster additions. Vanilla-esque texture enhancers. Is SMIM(? The model enhancing mod) still active and going? Basic stuff like that. Anything that you think makes it a better experience whilst staying fairly true to the Vanilla experience would be appreciated a lot.

I will be browsing this thread for about a month or so, so keep posting if you can. Thanks!

Check out G.E.M.S. if you didn't already.