+1 on the Brawler being underrated. It's easily my favorite melee weapon now.
Perks I don't use:
On PvE servers:
Well Insulated (and I even tend to play in desert or snow)
Any archery perk (even though I use crossbows, they do enough damage and are accurate enough without them, and once I get guns I stop archery)
Treasure Hunter (avoid Buried supplies quests anyway since they are not worth it)
Baton/Turret perks
Lockpicking (just buy Jailbreakers)
Any Stealth perk
Huntsman
Pack Mule
Healing Factor past 1
Master Chef past 1
On PvP servers I will take the stealth perks to avoid waking up zombies, Pack Mule/Well insulated because often I will lose my gear with Pocket mods and insulators