Use masterwork dwarf fortress.
I think it is the only serious alternative to vanilla since legendary 0.34 version.
You can turn off absolutely everything you don't like from Masterwork Launcher, I usually turn off most invaders(don't want to clean up the mess of beak wolves corpses), extra critters, vermin etc.
Masterwork by default has graphics enabled, you can switch between available tilesets with phoebius and ironhand possibly the most complete.
MDF also has build-in DFHack, multiple other mods are a part of it (elder gods cults for example) and it has build in interface hacks to make navigating DF easier.
For example stockpile setting - select a stockpile, select goods, export setting, use it in every consecutive game/fort you play.
There is Manipulator available from 'U'nit list, which shows you current skills of your dwarfs and lets you enable/disable jobs from a single nice screen instead of having to navigate between each and every citizen.
The list goes on and on, but IMO Masterwork Dwarf Fortress is the best way to play DF (better than vanilla by far).
Worlds created are full of things going on, extra civs like succubi and pandashi are really well defined and make a difference.
It is available for Windows only. Every option is clickable from interface and requires absolutely no knowledge of scripting. Version 1.13 is most stable but 1.14 has some improvements (like changes to meadow grass to let it grow in all biomes) and the 1.15 has signs.
This friday we should get new version, hopefully Meph will not introduce major bugs like with sand or broken tilesets.
If you wish, I can show you how to fix meadow grass in 1.13 before you generate your first world.
It looks something like this:
and here is the launcher: