Fire is a pretty safe bet. Other than the occasional Fire Dragon, Flame Atronach, and Dunmer, most enemies aren't particularly resistant to it, and undead are actually weak to it. Combine that with it's DoT effect and it's cheap cost, and you have a solid element for most enemies. Just make sure to have a backup for the Dragons and Atronachs.
Frost is generally a bad idea. It's resisted by Frost Dragons, Frost Atronachs, Nords (which are quite common, since this is Skyrim), and Undead (also quite common). I will admit that the slow effect is nice, though.
Shock is generally a pretty safe bet, as the only thing that resists it is the Storm Atronach, which is pretty rare. In addition, Shock spells have no travel time (something that is unique to them), so they hit whatever you're aiming at the moment you release the control. However, this is countered by their higher Magicka cost, and I believe that they also have less range than the other spells, as well.