Yeah you're right. Ephedra was one of the first substances to kill people in pre-workouts. There's been a couple of other deaths that I've heard of since then. I don't know anything about NO but the B group vitamins are a decent stimulant.

Bro science doesn't sound too reputable to be honest. Caffeine is all you really need.

I don't take creatine but there is some research out there that supports it's use. It's one supplement that I probably would use if I was getting pretty serious with my lifting.