Modules to extend the Display Suite module?
I really like the combination of Display suite with Custom Formatters - http://drupal.org/project/custom_formatters &amp; with the Omega Theme, with these tools you can almost entirely skip having to use tpl.php files to theme your site's layout and content. 

Also listed on the Display suite page you have Field Group - http://drupal.org/project/field_group &amp; Rendable elemenets - http://drupal.org/project/rel However Rendable elements doesn't seem to work that well quite yet but it looks promising.