Living in travel world

@Suzanne_games    Just like you said, I try them in the game.  I just don't try them in my favorite saves until I've tested them.  Whenever I want to try a new mod, I'll use one of my existing "test" saves or I'll create a new one.  This way, I don't care if the save is corrupted or changed in some way that I don't like and, my primary saves are kept from harm.  For the test save, I normally just use the game generated sims or, depending on the mod, I might create a new sim or household.

Once I add a mod, I open (or create) the test save.  The initial goal is to make sure the game and the save load properly.  If there are any glitches when loading or during play, I would remove the mod.  Using the Zerbu and venue changes mods as an example, if I added them, I would play in the test save just to observe any problems.  Are sims able to complete tasks; going to and from work / school, eating, sleeping, homework, etc.?  Do any of the sims glitch; body morphing, resetting, etc.?  Do other game mechanics work properly; visiting sims, phone calls, other notifications?   If there are any menus with options added by the mods, I would check all the features and their effects.  I'm guessing with those mods, there are probably not any options that  change sims' traits or behaviors though.

My primary example for testing mods would be the MCCC mod.  It is a great mod with lots of features that I use regularly and the creator does an excellent job of keeping it updated.  So I trust that it won't corrupt my save.  However, when I first started using it, I noticed a lot of changes that I didn't like.  Sims moving in with each other, sims getting pregnant, pets showing up in random households.  I was relatively new to mods then and didn't realize how complex MCCC is.  I didn't realize there were some default settings that would make all these changes.  Since then, I've made a point to fully familiarize myself with all features of every mod in addition to looking for any "technical" problems.

I hope this helps!