With the current GOG release, what do I need for the cleanest, most bug-free experience in 2021? I've never played before, so I'm mainly interested in UI and quality-of-life improvements e.g. widescreen and high resolutions, game stability (crashes, performance) and general bug-fixes, not so interested in changing the AI.

I'm confused about all the unofficial patches. Can I/should I install all of these in this order:
(1) Yitzi
(2) PRACX
(3) Scient
?

I've heard of Thinker and AI Growth but they both seem heavily focused on changing the AI. If I skip them, will I be missing out on important bugfixes? Which other patches are they compatible with?

Has anybody tried OpenSMACX? Is it worth considering instead of all the patches above?