I agree that most the added mods are too much -- I absolutely do not recommend Frackin' Universe, for example.
Buuuuut I have a small collection here that I enjoyed when I first started playing 2 ish years ago: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2718466911. Not too extensive!!
How long is "too long"? If I lose my Anno empires I will shit bricks