While I definitely enjoy mods in all my Bethesda titles, I do like to play through “vanilla” The first time through, as that’s usually the only time I engage the majority of vanilla content/the main quest. As soon as I introduce mods, I seldom re-touch the vanilla stuff more than what’s necessary, and usually results in half-finished play throughs before I add another dozen mods that require a fresh start. Vanilla Bethesda content can be enjoyed, as I’ve done that from Morrowind to Fallout 4 to everything in between.