I've been using mods since the sims 2 era. But with the frequent mod breaking updates, I try to limit the amount of mods and prefer mod creators known for updating their mods.
I only have one 'big' mod, mccc. For the rest I use small mods to adres a specific issue. For example tweak the potion of plentiful needs, unlock pointy ears for all sims,... I won't use big mods that overhaul entire systems because I am afraid an update might mess them up. I don't want a corrupt save.
I think I am actually somewhere between options one and two. I use mods pretty much constantly but I stay away from mods that fit into the 'mod the world' category.