As JR said downrigger ball weight depends on depth and downrigger. Most downriggers have a maximum recommended weight you shouldn't exceed it. Similarly manual downriggers are not fun with heavy weights. Speed also comes into play, the faster you troll the higher the drag and the ball will blow back further.
I use a 4 lb ball because I fish out of a human powered kayak and use a Scotty Laketroll downrigger only rated for 5 lbs. I use braid fishing line instead of a steel downrigger cable to help reduce line drag which does help reduce how far the ball blows back. If I troll fast I do get significant blow back but if you are good at math you can see roughly what angle your line is at and know roughly how deep your ball would be based on how much line you have let out. Alternatively you can also figure out how deep your ball runs at a certain speed by seeing at what depth it starts to hit bottom. In short there are steps you can take to fish lighter weight balls at greater depths but it takes a bit more mental calculation and paying attention to speed etc. Do not rely on your fish finder to tell you the depth your ball is at as it only tells you how far the ball is from the transducer and will read the same depth regardless of if you are moving or not(since the ball swings back and up but stays relatively the same distance from transducer).
Lots of guys with manual downriggers run around 8-10 lbs. Most guys with good electrics are running 12-15 lbs which is all you need for AB fishing. Pick the heaviest ball your equipment can handle, this makes it easier to know what depth you are at.
One downside to a heavier ball is that the more vertical your ball is the more slack that will be present when your line comes out of the clip. The more line you let out the more slack which may be one reason why it would seem most guys on here using heavier balls are only running 10-20, maybe 30 feet behind the ball.
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