Plugins, plugins, plugins ...?

[LeahBS]

Hi all

I've just posted a question about Google Analytics but I wonder if you guys also can help with this question

I add a bunch of plugins for a variety of reasons, all are highly recommended but I know that
a) Genesis is a superior theme so some wont be required
and
b) wordpress is improving so some are now defunct

But

I wont remove any from my base site install until I can be sure so heres the list I'm querying

Smush It - does WP do the job now to save bandwidth on images?
cbnet ping optimizer - ensure that pinging doesnt occur too frequently
Push Press - no idea what this does, just told to add it, read the speil, still no idea - any thoughts?

WP - DB Manager - automatically optimizes the site - think this is still good to keep as this doesnt relate to anything on Genesis

Cache plugin
W3 Total Cache is the highest recommended - I know I need one of these so just asking for any feedback

SEO plugin
Wordpress SEO - pre-configured so I don't have to keep doing that but I know some genesis users don't add a plugin as Genesis has this function - is it pretty much the same in terms of what genesis does compared to Wordpress SEO

Also in question

Use Google Libraries - I think this is breaking my themes and affecting functionality - I think this one needs to go and I've only heard one marketer ever recommend it

Viper's Video Quicktags - for embedding videos - but surely any wp install can embed a video without a plugin????

I'm basically SPRING CLEANING and would like some thoughts from you guys, I use other premium plugins for specific purposes like content publishing, backlinking, monetization etc so I need to trim the amount I've got

Thanks Genesis and all users :)