I agree with you Sombre. The quality of most of the mods for this game are so good it is almost criminal NOT to try them. I think I inadvertently started a thread like this in the mod forum but I feel the same now as I did then.
I mainly try the new nation mods. Zepath and Amos have prolly the best ones IMHO. Which isn't to say the others aren't good, because they are as well. Foodstamp has a mod he's been working on that I wish he would hurry up and release already.
I also like the Pretender mods. Nova Deus (another zepath mod) is my fave.
I've not tried any of the 'balance' mods since one man's balance is another man's 'nerf', but I may come around.