My favorites:
http://modthesims.info/d/535651/update-5-jul-2016-set-the-table-amp-call-to-meal.html
This one you click the meal and "call" family to eat and it will set a plate down for each member.
http://modthesims.info/d/524468/the-sims-3-passion-and-romance.html
This one I adore the animations, especially with the romantic kiss.
http://modthesims.info/d/634199/snow-but-better-snow-replacement-mod.html
Absolutely love the snow mod, makes it much more realistic.**low end computers might
struggle.
http://modthesims.info/d/413311/buy-takeout-and-order-food-at-restaurants.html
This one lets you order take out food.
For game performance:
https://www.nraas.net/community/Overwatch
Overwatch cleans up your game, such as stuck vehicles or sims.
https://www.nraas.net/community/Traffic
This one I use to limit the amount of taxis.
https://www.nraas.net/community/StoryProgression
Story Progression has a while bunch of features, you can read up on it here
This is the one you want for progression in your town.