I don't think so, regarding the dragon mods. Depends how they're set up.
And yes, just the NMM should do for now. I would definitely advise using the SkyUI mod, because the vanilla menus in the game for inventory, crafting etc are frickin' terrible. You can install the SKSE script thing using Steam, if you're using that, which means it will be kept up to date better. And the unofficial patches, as per StormLass.
Otherwise, any mod that improves the horribly blocky faces and skin textures everyone has is where you should start, for sure. The XCE stuff is great, and Better Beast Races, like Ber said. Beyond that, either search for a thing you might be interested in or look at the most endorsed stuff in every category to get a feel of what there is.
I remember I'd put together a list of mods to use about a year before I even got the (Legendary) game!