If I am starting a basic Sitecore MVC project, which package(s) should I install? The main Sitecore package seems like overkill. For now I will just be creating some basic components, though some will probably need to use the Content Search APIs.
I have read the doc page and this blog from Jeremy Davis, but I haven't found anything that identifies the best meta-packages to use for common taks.
At the very least, you'll want the Sitecore.Kernel assembly which contains the core API and most of the utilty classes you will use when working with Sitecore:
Sitecore.Kernel
For working with MVC, grab the MVC package:
Sitecore.Mvc
If you are going to be using ContentSearch and will work with Lucene indexes, you can get:
Sitecore.ContentSearch.Linq.Lucene
Each of these packages has a .NoReferences suffix variant which will get that single assembly and reference no other packages.
There are few different types of NuGet packages available with Sitecore public NuGet. One type is, with all the references, which is the one you have mention. Other type is Individual dll Nuget packages.
If you want individual dlls, then you can use .NoReference dll NuGet Packages from Sitecore public Nuget source.
At a minimum you would want Sitecore.Kernel and Sitecore.Mvc. This would give you enough to create basic components with MVC integration.
