To compile vim with a specific list of features:

1. read the feature list to figure out what you want
2. vi src/feature.h and verify you didn't break feature dependencies
3. vi src/Makefile and enable / disable the CONF_OPT_* features
4. make config (or make reconfig if the first compile failed)

For example, if your vim gets into stupid wars with X11 and therefore burns a lot of CPU on your laptop, you can now build a nice small non-X11 enabled vim.