Looking for Modlist suggestion: Visual+, non-power fantasy, extra quests, room for more mods

I'm looking for a modlist to play. I have a solid PC rig (32 GB Ram, 4070 Ti) so I'd like something visually stunning. I also don't want over the top, power fantasy. I'd prefer something more gritty, but not Souls level brutal. I'd like a list with a selection of quest/follower/etc... mods that add to the base game, so Vanilla+ as far as story wise. I've never done LotD (the museum one, ya?) so that might be cool. I'd also like to add some of my own mod choices, so nothing so overloaded with ESMs that I can't add a dozen mods or so.

I tried the Nlvs one (don't want break a rule here... but want to mention it), but it felt too power fantasy with all the stances and stuff. I was like level 10 in a couple of hours of wandering around. I've read that Lorerim lacks much in the way of quest mods, and can be extra brutal. So is there something in between those two? That's just as pretty and stable?

So what's out there?