When I install a new SQL Server I usually install the latest SP and the latest CU. With the exception if this is a vendor application then I will find out from them which CU they support... and.. usually they don't. They only certify SPs. So, vendors are going to have to jump on board with this. Most of our SQL Servers here are vendor type apps so applying the latest CU soon after they come out is never gonna happen since they don't certify them. Take for instance some of ours have 40 different apps on them, so that would mean all 40 vendors would have to certify that CU. That is just not realistic.

My thought process would be to be -1 CU, but even at that with as many servers as we have all we would be doing is applying CUs in DEV, TEST, PQA and Prod and have testing in the process for all of our systems in stages.