if you have a very low HP like my character then shadow warrior is invaluable and fun too, you can basically duck, get behind and re-open with a sneak attack. as for the rest muffle, light footed and that roll thing are all pretty fun (i hate light footed, i liked dodging traps) however none are essential so if you dont want them do not take them.
I agree that light footed just lets you be lazy, which is not necessarily fun. Plus, with light footed it is harder to turn traps on your enemies. I love running backwards through traps and tripping them just in time to let my enemies eat a face full of boulders.
In my experience, Shadow Warrior was too powerful but I didn't make a low HP character. I could see it being good with a weak character that could not hold his own in a stand-up fight.
The other one I did not really like was the silent running perk cause it makes speed sneaking just too easy. I have fun when sneaking is suspenseful, not when you can just run up to people and get the one hit backstab.