Putting weights and pads in the bottom of my chess pieces has been so annoyingly rewarding. I thought I liked simple clattery chess pieces, pieces that announced themselves, wood that sounds like wood y'know. I still do, I guess, in other contexts.
...but The Features. Now I can bump into my chess table with my ass in the dark and the pieces don't even fall over. The cat walking across the board won't knock them off the edge (might nudge them out of place, though). And the experience of handling them is just very nice. There is something almost magical about sliding them around. And, in theory, I can now... play speed chess. 😈