I will say some of these mods have plugins that adds extra npcs to Skyrim where another mod has probably done the same (for example: Immersive Patrols - Faction plugin + another mod that does the same) so be careful. I'm not done as I have about 3 more to go on this list and some newer ones if they work out well and get stable enough. I'm now using the large battles option, thanks to SSME which seems to have stopped CTDs in the land of Skyrim. I use the only the 'patrols' option since everything else I've listed can also result in a large battle depending on the time and place. Note: The 'Large Battles' part of this mod could cause freezes if there's too much going on at once on the screen (or if your PC just can handle it).
MUST HAVE LIST OF MODS THAT BRINGS LIFE TO SKYRIM