PetroIII

Hello there, if I follow the guide accurately, it states, that it's best to start out with a freshly installed Skyrim. Well, I did so and worked all my way through to installing the first mods, mainly fixes like the Unofficial Patch. But i asked myself the question, wether I am supposed to create a character before starting modding intensely. The guide never says anything of starting a new game, so am I supposed to create a character after installing the 200+ mods? Does it matter? Because I would like to test the game here and there to avoid crashes and to see the modding progress. I'd just complete Helgen and then start modding. And one more thing: The guide also suggests to install the Official High Resolution Texture Pack DLCs. Are they essential or can i skip those? I've heard stories of them breaking the game in combination with SKSE. Thanks for your help, PetroIII