STEP? I think there's a way to back up your mods. I use Nexus Mod Manager for mine. But in any case, if you go so long without playing, all the mods will need updates anyway. The ones that are updated, that is.
But really, the only really big mods are quest mods (which IMO aren't good enough for more than one run—Falskaar was solid, good for one; Helgen Reborn was good for two, but that was pushing it) and follower mods with a lot of dialog (but again, do a full run with one companion = never use them again, for me at least, just because there are so many. I've seen Willow or whatever her name is in Skyrim in the buff, done all her quests... she has a pretty voice but what else is there? I wanna get the Khajiit guy in the Riften jail next, but I don't recall his name). And city/town additions, texture packs and the like. As with the others, I say cycle 'em out. Sexy _____ (SFW stuff) mods were nice for a while, but a little too polished.
Honestly I just like a few fixes. Time of day, unread books glow, and a few others that just make things a little smoother. Oh and SkyUI, can't live without that on PC. I've been playing a little on Xbox and man, the original UI stunk. Shame SkyUI was never able to do crafting stuff, otherwise I would have forgotten all about it.
As for Witcher 2 I can't get into that mess. Got as far as the first boss, the guy with the tentacles. I took the potion first. But you gotta be quick with the dodges, or he'll get you in about 2 hits. Fights like that, for me, either they work or they don't. Nintendo can do no wrong with them in the Zelda games, some Metroid bosses... and Konami in most Castlevania boss fights. Because they're not too hard, and once you know what you gotta do, the game doesn't punish you for doing the thing a half a second too late. It's like the game realizes you get it and it's more forgiving, and you do the thing and you just feel more powerful. And that's the difference, to me, between a mediocre game and a great game. They both teach you to do a thing a certain way, but one punishes you even after you got it right, and the other makes you feel like a hero. Granted, Geralt was never meant to be a real hero, he's more of a, I guess, mediator? Sort of like a cleric? But he's also a badass, though playing him doesn't make me feel like one.
Still, Witcher 2 has one of the best intros to a game, ever. I love that sequence, on the boat, with the freeze spell... and everyone I've shown loves it, too.
