How many sims can you handle at once in a household?

The way I look at it is like this. I keep autonomy on high all the time. I mean, individual people are autonomous. But even in a real life household, a family of six, plus one butler and a pet, not everyone’s needs are going to be met all the time. People are going to fall asleep in odd places and be late to work. This is quite realistic. It can also add some drama to your game. If you are always perfectly meeting all their needs and nothing ever goes wrong, it gets boring real fast.