I might as well do quick reviews for all of the mods I've been using this playthrough. All are updated for 1.7.0/1.7.1(beta) and I haven't had a single crash. Not including framework/dependency mods. Nexus lets you know what you need.
Additional Quests
https://www.nexusmods.com/mountandblade2bannerlord/mods/3066
Could probably live without this one, but it's there if you want to add more shit for the sake of adding more shit.
Pros
-Adds a couple quests intended to be vanilla friendly.
Cons
-I'm never going to round up 20 spears for some idiot.
Dismemberment (Plus)
https://www.nexusmods.com/mountandblade2bannerlord/mods/2190
With bladed weapons you can dismember heads/arms/hands/legs/feet.
Pros
-Looks very well done now. Earlier dismemberment mods looked goofy and left invisible holes instead of bloody stumps.
-You can fully configure dismemberment chance or simply select the realism option, which dismembers based on your weapon skill, health of victim, and damage of your swing.
Cons
-If you're unwilling to configure it to your tastes, you might not like how often you chop off heads.
Hybrid Blocking
https://www.nexusmods.com/mountandblade2bannerlord/mods/2386
This adjusts the mobility you have when moving your shield around to block attacks. Honestly, I hadn't played the game in a long time before this playthough, so the difference is lost on me.
Improved Garrisons
https://www.nexusmods.com/mountandblade2bannerlord/mods/688
Customize your garrisons by creating patrols, sending out troop recruiters, automate guards being sent out to defend your villages, and more.
Pros
-It's really cool being able to set which troops you want recruited, what level you want them to train to, and having your guys patrol your territory and ward off bandits.
Cons
-It's so good that it's going to make the game much easier for you.
Magic Holsters
https://www.nexusmods.com/mountandblade2bannerlord/mods/2368
Hides spears and other huge weapons being glued to your back when holstered. I don't mind 2 handed swords being strapped to my back, so I use the version that's just for spears.
Pros
-No more armies running around with 20 foot poles stuck to them.
Cons
-It's just as unrealistic for people to have invisible weapons
-An enemy can surprise you by switching to a spear you couldn't see on them.
Raise Your Banner
https://www.nexusmods.com/mountandblade2bannerlord/mods/3253
1 in every X of your soldiers will carry your banner. Same for your allies and enemies.
Pros
-The banners look great. They even have physics and blow in the wind. I think most of the code is just unimplemented basegame stuff.
Cons
-None. Perfect mod. Makes armies look way cooler.
Realistic Battle Mod
https://www.nexusmods.com/mountandblade2bannerlord/mods/791
Huge overhaul to combat and AI tactics. So huge that the combat and tactics overhauls are completely separate and you can choose to install them both or even just one of them.
Pros
-Armor is more effective, requiring new tactics and increasing the length of battles. Higher tier troops are now more distinctly powerful.
-All armies now use proper tactics instead of simply charging.
Cons
-It changes almost everything. Might not be to your tastes.
-Some of the enemy tactics can be abused pretty heavily.
De Re Militari
https://www.nexusmods.com/mountandblade2bannerlord/mods/2505
Overhauls all troop trees in the game. Separates lower and high tier units so that a simple levy soldier can never promote all the way to a heavily armored death machine. Relies on RBM.
Pros
-Makes all factions more distinct and plays to their strengths.
-A more realistic depiction of army composition.
Cons
-While AI lords will choose well rounded armies, a player with enough income can just staff their entire army with the highest tier troops and wipe the floor with everyone else.
Detailed Character Creation
https://www.nexusmods.com/mountandblade2bannerlord/mods/118
Allows for more character creation options, like age, weight, build, etc. Also lets you customize how NPCs look. Very useful if your kid has those stupid fucking dreads.
Bandit Militias
https://www.nexusmods.com/mountandblade2bannerlord/mods/1768
Bandits will eventually combine their forces and form armies. Kind of dumb, won't be using it again.
Pros
-Gives you an enemy to fight somewhere between small looter bands and lord armies.
Cons
-It's silly seeing huge bandit armies everywhere.
-No matter how many of them there are, hordes of low tier units don't pose much of a challenge.
Balanced Tournament Armor
https://www.nexusmods.com/mountandblade2bannerlord/mods/3471
Heals every unit to full for tournaments and forces them to use the same armor. Simple balance change.
Diplomacy
https://www.nexusmods.com/mountandblade2bannerlord/mods/832
Adds more diplomatic features like messengers, alliances, war exhaustion, and civil wars within factions. Also allows you to claim fiefs you capture like in Warband.
Pros
-It's nice having proper alliances and expanding the non-combat side of the game.
Cons
-In Warband you could request fiefs you capture be given to you, but it was ultimately up to your ruler. I haven't been denied a single one in this mod. Not sure if that's intentional.
Knock 'Em Down
https://www.nexusmods.com/mountandblade2bannerlord/mods/3613
Allows you to configure knockdown chances for everything in the game, including shield bashes, kicks, and every type of projectile and melee weapon. I like to give bashes/kicks a decent knockdown chance while adding 1%-5% to projectiles and small arms for added chaos in battles. One of my favorite mods.
Succession
https://www.nexusmods.com/mountandblade2bannerlord/mods/2908
Different cultures will have different succession rules. New rulers can be decided by inheritance, military strength, clan wealth, landowner votes, senate election, or pleb election. Some factions even have term limits. Seems really neat, but ruler deaths are rare enough for me to not have really experienced it much.
Distinguished Service
https://www.nexusmods.com/mountandblade2bannerlord/mods/1101
If one of your units gets a significant amount of kills in a battle, you can promote them to be a full fledged companion.
Pros
-It's great seeing an alternative to simply buying companions from taverns.
Cons
-Balance is fucked. You choose their stats when you select them, and I was able to just specialize guys to have 400+ points in medical/engineering/scouting/whatever. Can't recommend until this is fixed.
Settlement Auto Mount
https://www.nexusmods.com/mountandblade2bannerlord/mods/3622
Puts you on your horse when you go for a walk around towns or villages. Get this.
Troop Sorting
https://www.nexusmods.com/mountandblade2bannerlord/mods/3596
Sorts troops in your party. Not much to say about this one.