Keep in mind I exclusively play BM but here's what I think.
I try out different stuff as it interests me but usually through some attempt to RP. Maybe it's not balanced, but where's the fun in examining too deeply. Sure I try to maximise stuff but i've never cared to min/max obsessively.
Ancient race: I have had this for a few recent games. It suits a, well, ancient race. You can see all the planets so you have a bit of an advantage right at the beginning as you can head straight for habitable planets without wasting time exploring. You can easily figure out where everyone else is so you plan a border, and in 2 cases I've intentionally colonised systems in an attempt to cut off races from each other. Then they can't meet and ally against me
. I have learnt though that it does cripple you a bit. Sure you know where everything is and can head straight for planets but others who spent their points on stuff like increased resources will become more powerful. I don't regret my choice, it's fun, but I do labour near the bottom. I like to think I had a bit of bad luck as hardly any planets I could reach were really breathable and no one I met would trade colony types with me. oh well.
Organic: Useful. The technology is interesting. Very characteristic. I realised that it is useful for maximising production. Because you can build with both minerals and organics you can design your ships with both. Say your SY builds at 4000/4000/4000, well instead of a ship that costs 4800/2400/1400 you could perhaps design it to be 3900/3600/1400, then you can get one built every turn. Keep in mind that you can build more than one design a turn so it's not really worth the trouble if you are building 9 over the next 10 turns, but it is useful for churning ships out. Of course you need to mange increased use of organic resources. Naturally you take increased organic production, or at least not the compulsory reduced organic production.
Psychic. I've just started trying this as a change from Organic. It's interesting. One thing I learn today through testing was that the allegiance subverter doesn't permanently change a ships allegiance. oh well. Useful enough that it fires at its own side. There's another one that half does it in that the ship will then fire on both sides. It's not big on facilities and the experience one's may not be much use. I gather experience doesn't really work.
Religious: I tried this in a game but the game didn't last long and I tried soemthing else in the next one. The bif stuff like totems would take a while to get and meanwhile everyone else expands. Same thing probably applies as in se4. If someone sees you're religious you get put at the top of the list to attack, before you get any good stuff.
Temporal. Tried this. The temporal sensors appear useful (same thing applies to psychic sensors) but apart from that the game didn't get far.
Environmental resistance: tried this once. thought a slight reduction would be worth the extra points. Bad idea. My race got so hot and bothered from bad environments they were never in any mood to reproduce. May have excacerbated things by also reducing reproduction rate.
I've never bothered with no spaceports. I don't know, not bothering with one small facility at the beginning doesn't seem worth the trouble. Mind you I guess your enemy can't glass the system capital and cut off all resources. Mechanoids looks interesting but I haven't seen plagues do much. I thought they would kill off population, they just seem to stop immigrants arriving. I don't know how much effect that has.
I always go for increased research and increased ship yard rates. If it's a 5000 point game then sure with plenty of points I'll go for increased aggresiveness.