Hello everyone!

I'm going to play through BG2 for the first time and I was wondering whether there was any highly recommended banter/NPC mods.

I've already installed the essential fixpacks and stuff like that :3

Well the two most popular (I believe) come to mind:

IEP Banter Pack
Pocket Plane Banter Pack.

Then, of course, you have the Cross Mod Banter Pack, for if you install NPC mods.

Ah, thanks :3

Would you say they are essential or hiiiiighly recommended for a better experience?
What I'm trying to say is; am I missing out without them?

That is highly subjective, and depends entirely on what you want or expect from the game. The banter packs certainly give more 'life' to the mundane trudging around killing stuff, but don't expect in-depth discussions. :D

Are you missing out without them? I would say yes, but not a great deal. Actually, a far better 'experience' is to be had from the BG1NPC project, available for TuTu and BGT, but that's another story...

Ah, I see. I'll save those for later I guess :3
Thank you for your answer.

I personally do not really see the point of banter packs - especially if you're playing through BG2 for the first time - as they only add a few banters written by fans, and whenever they come up you can usually tell that they are not "canon" material. Some are alright, but I certainly wouldn't call any of that essential.

NPC mods I really detest, as they are usually horribly written mary-sues/wish-fulfilments/"comical" and/or have way too much dialogue and content - most of which really isn't that good or interesting - compared to the original NPCs. However, I think the Keto NPC mod is alright, and since there isn't a proper bard NPC in the game anyway, (Keto is a pure class bard with decent stats) you might want to give this one a try.

Nobody ever said that banter packs are meant to be 'canon', whatever THAT means. Nobody ever said that they are supposed to be 'lore friendly', whatever THAT means.

You either like them, or you don't -- as I said, it's a highly subjective topic -- and singling out one specific NPC mod that you personally like doesn't help the OP much, if at all.