My personal best experience with mods I want to advice
BEST FOR SURVIVAL 2 PERMADEATH PLAYTHROUGH. (REMASTERED VERSION, HAVEN'T TRIED ON VANILLA) MY GOAL WAS TO ACHIEVE SOME SORT OF SURVIVAL II+ WITH CONSTANT TENSION AND SOME REBALANCING. I'VE HAD THE BEST EXPERIENCE REVISITING THIS GAME WITH THESE MODS:
https://www.nexusmods.com/daysgone/mods/730 - Bigger scarier hordes. Feels more realistic
https://www.nexusmods.com/daysgone/mods/458 - Item, consumables tweaks, very very rare loot respawn, everything is more expensive
https://www.nexusmods.com/daysgone/mods/120 - Deal 1.5x more damage, receive 1.5x more damage (again feels more realistic, everything dies faster but you also can be one shot by a freak before you inject NERO health shit)
https://www.nexusmods.com/daysgone/mods/370 - x5 melee durability (when combined with 1.5x damage received and 1.5x damage dealt mod, it offers you to use melee more often, while also adds a greater risk of dying, I think it adds even more spice to gameplay)
https://www.nexusmods.com/daysgone/mods/127 - Double ears from freaks so farming them is actually kind of useful (works great with bigger hordes mod and item tweaks mod since everything is more expensive, decent balance)
https://www.nexusmods.com/daysgone/mods/179 - Instant car opening
https://www.nexusmods.com/daysgone/mods/204 - Better flashlight
https://www.nexusmods.com/daysgone/mods/189 - Almost unbreakable sidearm modern suppressor (I allow myself this mod and x5 melee durability mod since everything else is harder)
I hope someone is going to play with these mods (permadeath survival 2 recommended) and enjoy it as much as I do. Also if anyone can recommend more mods to enhance the experience even more without breaking immersion, please do