On totk I boosted stamina first. I just got annoyed with how far I couldn’t get with the glider in the sky. Turns out it was useful for spoiler reasons!

I like stamina first but I keep dying

I went for stamina because of a huge emphasis on exploration. I found botw to be a bit frustrating because I was limited by my stamina so I forgone my health to complete a stamina wheel. I’m working on health since 2 wheels seems enough before cooking.

Also it forces me to find alternative strategies for combat such as stealth, weapon building, and cooking. Honestly, with the time saved in exploration but spent in preparing for combat, I’d say it balances out.

Hearts first. I think you only need 8-10 of them though before you go full stream ahead on stamina until it’s full

Hearts until I have 6, then one extra stamina wheel, then 4 more hearts, then the rest of stamina, then the rest of hearts.
By the time I got to 10 hearts, I could start upgrading armor and cooking full-heals, and I wasn’t taking many hits, so stamina was more important.