I know filters are controversial and as I am a hobby photographer and not professional in any sense, I figure that as long as I am capturing photos which give me the results I want and give me the sense of safety I need to put my mind at ease and shoot what and how I want, I am good with that.
I have never used a UV filter because I use a circular polarizer most and my belief (hopefully correct) is that a circular polarizer covers as being a uv filter as well and that dslrs aren't affected by uv the same as old slrs.
I like a circular polarizer because I tend to take my most photos when at the ocean and I like what it can do to cut down on the glare of the water and give me deeper, richer colors and I want a filter for extra protection as I will tend to need to clean it more there and don't want to risk scratching the lens as there is a higher probability of doing so in a sandy and salt water environment. Also works great for taking shots through glass as you can twist it until you find the sweet spot to eliminate the glass glare.
The other filters I have played with and really enjoy in the right circumstances are the graduated neutral density and neutral density filters. I got the GND to work with landscape photos to get more ground detail without getting a blown out sky. The neutral density one I got for playing with trying to get those soft, flowing waterfall shots that I see and love in magazines.
Something that I have found very handy for my lens cap is that you can pick up little tethers for them that attach to your camera strap and then sticky to your lens cap so when you take it off, it hangs there and you don't have to worry about where to put it or dropping it. They cost about $1 for the cheapest version and you can find fancier if want more like a clip on it so you can clip it to your strap instead of it dangling.
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