So... Mold Earth and Shape Water, the go-to spells to stop some ambushes.
Animate big blobs of water with Shape Water and have them roll around in front of you -- best way to check for tripwires and pit traps within 30'. And 5' of water is enough to stop pretty much any ballistic missile shot/thrown at you.
Then there's Mold Earth if you really want serious protection. Just keep stopping to snap your fingers and you get a 5' cube of loose dirt -- same travel speed as stopping to check for traps every 5' but it'll stop everything. It might even stop that boulder rolling down the hallway towards you.
But combining them is where the real fun starts, because now you can make mud anywhere you want. Just direct the loose earth to flow then direct your animated blob to jump in, or stick an arm in, and roll around. Gunk up any trap. Cover something in a 5' blob of viscous mud. The more I sit here and think about it, the more potential uses I'm thinking of for these cantrips.
I'm picturing spellcasters walking down the street snapping their fingers like some sort of jive-honkey bard who's busking while walking, but instead a "Diglett" is bouncing after them or "Blastoise" is trundling along next to them. What uses are you seeing for these? :D
http://engl393-dnd5th.wikia.com/wiki/Mold_Earth
http://engl393-dnd5th.wikia.com/wiki/Shape_Water