here's the ones regarding cities i've recently installed:

dawnstar: cities of the north - dawnstar

falkreath: arthmoor's falkreath

markarth: towns and villages enhanced - markarth

morthal: cities of the north - morthal

solitude: legacy of the dragonborn and books of skyrim

riften: riften docks overhaul

whiterun: capital whiterun expansion (exterior compatibility version)

windhelm: faction - pit fighter - revamped

+ winterhold: winterhold restored and obscure's college of winterhold

others mods that affect most or all cities (interiors and outside the cities): most jk's interiors, elianora's breezehome, elysium estate, provincial courier service, skyrimvr distinct interiors fixed (best and most stable version of distinct interiors and compatible with jk's interiors, especially vanilla player homes), skyrim sewers 4, skyrim bridges and stave church of skyrim (recommend disabling the bronze water and falkreath options, first one breaks the terrain of the near village and i personally didn't like falkreath's one placement)

i've tried a lot of city overhauls in the past few weeks and these have been the most stable and performance friendly (capitan whiterun expansion being the only one that lags occasionally), at least for my setup