Utterly Mad

So, I've finally gotten around to installing Skyrim on my dream machine, and I'm of course wanting to install some mods. 

I'm looking for any good visual enhancement, companion both adding and improvement mods, ui improvement mods, tweaks, quests, etc. type mods. 

Also, and this is important, I want a mod that fixes vampirism, this can be anything from simply making it so that feeding makes you stronger instead of weaker(still haven't figured out Bethesda's logic on that one)to a complete vampirism overhaul including factions and quests, so long as it fixes vampirism. 

Oh and I do have all 3 DLC installed.

I think its bellas better vampires you want here. Also, get an ENB, throwing weapons mod, moonpath to elsewhere, the official hd texture pack, the better models mod, dwemer rifle, Mo monsters, and the w40K armor mod.

Hmm, as a veteran Skyrim modder, I would recommend Better Vampires (Refer to Perigrin's post, a must have), and for aesthetics sake, DVA dynamic vampire appearance (putting all the silly images at the nexus aside, this mod just makes the transitions between the different stages of vampirism more obvious on your character's face). Also I would suggest When Vampires Attack to make NPCs a bit smarter (an optional mod, makes NPCs run into their homes during vampire raids).

Also, here's a list of a... "couple" of mods you should check out:
Open Cities (Cities are "merged" into the world, so there isn't a loading sceen when you enter them.), Sneak Tools (Thief 1: Skyrim Edition; adds rope/oil/water/fire arrows, an ability to knock out people instead of killing them and more; a must have if you are the sneaky type), Immersive weapons and armor (these are two separate mods that add a bunch of lore-friendly stuff into the game), Interesting NPCs (Adds over 9000 200 NPCs with their own personality and stories; some of them can be recruited (or married) and some even give you quests), Glorious Grasses (you just don't know how the game will change if you add slightly more grass into it), Simply Bigger Trees (the same as the previous mod, it makes the world look more realistic with just a simple tweak), Live Another Life-Alternate Start (You can choose a different start for your character; Vampire hiding in a secluded lair also is included), Duel-Combat Realism (overhauls the combat system and enemy AI; a must have if you like fighting), iNeed (a successor to Realistic Needs and Diseases; it is slightly less detailed than its predecessor, but at least it doesn't cause incompatibilities with other mods; also, it adds a nice HUD interface that keeps track of your needs, so that's something), Trade Routes of Skyrim (Makes trading a viable option; now you can buy thing in one hold and sell it for a better price in the other); Climates of Tamriel (improves a lot of thing regarding Skyrim's enviroment, starting with lightning effects and ending with the weather itself; I highly recommend it), Take Notes! ("Dear diary, today I've killed a troll that called me a taffer..."; yup, a personal journal mod that actually works), Falskaar (DLC-like mod that adds new lands and content into the game), Moonpath to Elsweyr (Seriously, why no one can spell the khajiit kingdom's name properly?), Master of Disguise (Take some Thalmor's clothes and become one of them, anywhere; it's a disguise mod, in other words), Undeath (another storyline mod, didn't start to play it yet, but it adds a sewer system in Solitude, which can be used for a stealthy getaway from the city; also, you can become a Lych Lord), Wyrmstooth (And yet another storyline mod, now related to a Dragon), Wet and Cold (makes some neat changes to rain and snow), Get Snowy (your character gets covered in snow during a thunderstorm), all of the Fight Against the Thalmor mods (even more quests, this time you can kick Thalmor's butt out of Skyrim), Volumetric Fog (Self explanatory), Realistic Clouds (also self explanatory, use this only on a powerful machine), Familiar Faces (fanfic writer's dream; now you can recruit and/or marry your previous Skyrim characters; also, it add a cool temple into the game that keeps track of your actions), Extensive Follower Framework of EFF (overhauls everything related to follower management; an interesting feature is that you can recruit 100 followers at once; create your army TODAY) and finally, anything that Brodual Showcases in his channel (you can check him out here)


Here, I covered all your modding needs for the next 15 centuries.

Well, regarding realistic nights you can use Climates of Tamriel. It is not exactly an ENB, but it does make nights realistic, among other things (you can even adjust the house interiors lighting to be warmer or a bit more "rustic" if you want). Also, you should check out RealVision ENB too. It looks very good, but I prefer to use Skyrim ENB since I don't like shiny over-the-top graphics and pointless FX in games (if you still want to check it out, the dev blog is here; they make ENB files for a lot of games, so choose carefully).
Also, regarding mod managers, I mostly use Nexus Mod Manager, partly because it's easy to use, partly because it is compatible with helluva lot of games and partly because I'm too lazy to search for a better one.

Also, I would recommend using Dynavision for and better FOV effects. And you should also check out Enhanced Lights and FX for even more lightning effects. Oh, and then there's Static Mesh Improvement Mod, or SMIM, which turns sprites like ropes, chains, lanterns and other crap into full 3D models. I recommend it.

Well, in any case, maybe this helps, taking yet again another article.

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/10/22/skyrim-survival-mods/

It's to make Skyrim a more survivalesque and hard thing. Maybe the mods here have already been commentated by the forumers, like Frostfall, but just had to try to help. I kinda like the Alternate Start's concept, but i don't know if it's your taste.

Live another life is a MANDATORY mod. If you want basic, simple eating and sleeping, use the Nord Needs mid. If you want to spend 4 hours crying about nutrtion and caloric intake, whilst being unable to eat and drink while starving and dehydrated, use Imps More complex needs.