My choice of film is primarily governed by the scanning process.
A. color negative film - Fuji Reala (CS). I like it better than
Superia. I shoot NPZ 800 when I need some speed. I don't shoot negative
film much anymore since the lab I used to go to is no longer convenient
to get to. The closer pro lab does not print color negatives, they only
print a contact sheet. I shoot it to get the prints for other people
and sometimes when I have very high contrast lighting.
B. Color Slide film - I shoot slide film almost exclusively for
scanning, preferring Provia 100F, 400f when I need the speed, and Velvia
100F on those overcast days with uniform lighting. I shoot mostly
nature. I have not tried the newer Astia.
The biggest reason for slide film is the ease of scanning compared to
color negative. The nikon scanner ls-4000 clips the shadows arbitrarily
when scanning negatives. If you need the shadow detail it becomes a
real arse-pain to get it back - basically scanning as a positive and
inverting in PS.
The ICE dust and scratch removal works best with slide film I think.
Kodachrome can be problematic scanning with ICE. The kodachrome dyes
can sometimes block the IR channel creating strange artifacts with ICE.
Older kodachrome scans with ice sometimes works, but often not. Some of
my Dad's stuff from the 50's has mold, and ICE is a life saver, when it
works.
C. Black and White negative film - haven't shot too much B&W to really
comment. I have shot some Scala. Since I scan most everything, I have
not had great success with B&W and scanning. I just don't think
scanners do well with the grain structures, plus B&W negatives will not
allow ICE - another reason to use Scala or a chromogenic B&W. Provia is
very low grain and using the channel editor in PS you can get B&W after
the fact without the need for B&W filters. Sometimes it is just fun to
shoot B&W though because of the mindset you have when it is loaded in
the camera, and the fact you can develop it yourself, and the fact you
can control contrast through developing.
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