IAmRisen and IRD's NW talk

As far as the elements go:

Air
Advantages: Gives soak to Electrical, deals Electrical, which ain't easy to soak, by and large
Disadvantages: Removes soak from Bludgeon; not a big deal, as mundane armor can overcome this

Water
Advantages: Gives soak to Cold, which ain't a big deal, as there are very, VERY few attacks that deal Cold damage
Disadvantages: Deals Bludgeon; removes soak to Fire (irrelevant if you have Fire Resist)

Fire
Advantages: In terms of raw damage, more than any other element
Disadvantages: The soak gain is irrelevant if you've got Fire Resist... as is all that damage if your enemy has it. Losing Cold resist isn't a big deal, as there ain't much out there that hits Cold.

Earth
Advantages: Gives soak to Bludgeon which, combined with mundane armor, can pump your Bludgeon soak to melee-class levels
Disadvantages: Deals Bludgeon. Removes soak from Electrical, which a few more attacks deal than Cold, including the Hurricane. EDIT: And the movement costs for the pets are twice that of everything else.

I think I might write a soak guide... I'll recommend damage types against different kinds of targets. That will be a lot easier to do once the Grand Unified Weapons, Armor, and Spell table is updated, though.

And thank God that Advocates don't get Divine Armor. It would be absolutely impossible to kill the bastards.