Personally I would only start with stock to be able to experience the difference (in praise of the mod-creators). If you don't care (you are in appraisal anyway
) , then go right ahead with mods.
But do realise, some bugs and quirks originated or happened in stock too. So be careful if you come up against something weird and you attribute them to any mod you are using. There is a good chance the mod-creators know about it but can't do anything about it.