For a long time I went down crazy modding rabbit holes for the fallout games, spending more time modding than actually playing. I finally decided to just pick a setup and stick with it so I could actually enjoy the game. I ended up following this guy's modlist which has a nice focus on the essentials.
I think my favorite part is how they've brought back software rendering, both by allowing it on linux and by giving the option to turn off texture filtering on opengl. That plus making the main menu look like the original release brings me right back to how I first played Half-Life!