The whistle 😆
Mirth: I always have the unofficial patch at the top of the load order. It fixes a ton of bugs that Bethesda themselves haven't ironed out and it gets updated regularly.
Some other stuff I've currently got in my load order, off the top of my head:
Ars metallica: Small but essential mod if you're playing archery/stealth characters. It fixes the most glaring omission in Skyrim which is the ability to craft your own arrows. It also gives you the ability to melt down pots, armors, weapons etc into ingots, which I also think should have been a default feature.
Tiny houses: My favourite mod of the newer ones I've got. It allows you to build tiny homes (I think there are six blueprints in total, from small shacks and cottages to a proper house) literally anywhere in Skyrim. It works along the same way principles as Hearthfire. You can also pack your house down into crates and then rebuild it somewhere else with all furnishing etc still intact if you're unhappy with your location, which is neat. I've currently built a home on top of a waterfall with the best view I could find in the entire reach:
As you can see it doesn't clear the landscape. I wasn't able to get rid of that rock or the tree, so I just had the house merge with them. The location was way too good to pass up, and the challenge of building a base in such a difficult environment was part of the fun. You get a map marker whenever you put a house down and then you can fast travel to it like with everything else.
Cutting Room Floor: Restores and completes a bunch of quests and other stuff that was finished but ended up getting cut from Skyrim. There are detailed lists if you google it.
Immersive citizens: Better AI for NPCs in the world.
Gray Fox Cowl: Another terrific (and huge) quest mod. DLC-sized. More info here: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/64651
Beyond Skyrim - Bruma: Maybe the best mod available at the moment. It was released as a teaser by the Beyond Skyrim team. They've been working for years to create the rest of Tamriel during the same time period where Elder Scrolls V takes place. The mod lets you into Cyrodiil (where Oblivion was set, but that was in an earlier era) and although it's mostly focused on the town of Bruma you can travel pretty far and experience a completely new landscape with flora, fauna and objects that are very different from Skyrim. It's just all around lovely.
