I've played a little of each. I've stripped some Sim to $0 and a guitar and made them earn absolutely everything, I've given them riches and just messed around, I've made family, friends, fictional characters, original Sims. I've built real houses, pretend places, and combinations of the two. I like realism the least. Mostly I like to place my simself and my daughter's simself in a random house, then not play us at all while I do something else. Don't try to befriend us, just see us pop in for cameos. Nothing like getting into a vampire plot, then seeing yourself club-dancing (badly) in the background for a moment.
Give me your spellcasters, vampires, and spur-of-the-moment decisions, longing to be free!