Lets see do you define your build with them or not?
Not healing potions^^
Voted for the third option. That said, I usually play cold characters and their gear tends to have appallingly low armor and resists. When I’m doing, say, my Commando or Druid, I rarely need them.
2nd option.
When playing BoC or Port Valbury I change my gear (Boots/Augments/Weapon/Components) and before fighting van Aldritch or Shar´Zul I use elixirs. No potions because I don´t need them and there is not enough space on my main bar. 
Never use them. But then again I don’t do Crucible especially much.
If my build can’t survive without me sitting around until I’ve popped 300 cans of whoopass, I don’t intend to continue playing the build.
Edit: There is ONE exception and that’s the Kymon’s Wrath tincture for the Burn DoT it hits enemies with, if I’m playing a Burn build.
Edit 2: I used to use the Fumble Tincture from Devil’s Crossing but it felt a little cheesy and since I adopted the above mentality I’ve personally gotten better at making and playing builds.
Edit 3: I assume you mean tonics/tinctures. Health/Energy potions I chug as required.
Healing Potions: all the time.
Energy Potions: All the time on one character.
Everything else: They sit in my stash in a pretty pattern.
Actually yeah I should probably ask if you meant healing/energy potions (which is what I assumed in my answer), or the resist ointments (which I may pop before fighting Shar’Zul or something if my resists aren’t capped).
Mostly specific bosses for me. Hard hitters like Shar’Zul warrant health potions.
The only consumable/tincture i’ve ever used is the one that gives increased DA and armour.
Bind E -> Energy Potion
Bind R -> Healing Potion
Remove both from hotbar (unless you want to see their cooldowns)
Diablo 1/2/Titan Quest muscle memory ftw. 
why have i never tried this
Seriously man I could hug you right now.
I did this in Titan Quest as well, but I like to see cooldowns for this game. Sometimes shit just gets a bit hectic and I’m left running to a corner while mashing my hotbar hoping I don’t die.
Voted 3 but i would vote 2 and a half if i could 
For healt/energy pots i use them when needed (obviously ).
Resist pots:
In Vet and Elite (where most of my resists are not capped with leveling gear) i use them in some select areas/bosses (Salazar, witch-god guardians, Lucius, etc.) when my corresponding resist are rather low.
After lvl75 Ultimate my resists are capped, but i still use some of them sometimes to overcap when a boss has some kinda resist debuff (Sharzul, Valdaran, Guardian of Dreeg, hoarfrost for Moos, etc.)
I keep some other stuff like lifestealer oil or royal jelly ointment in my inventory just in case but i never actually used them in almost 2k hours.
Bind E -> Energy Potion
Bind Q -> Healing Potion
Q & E for me, but yeah it’s the same for everything I play
I have Energy/Healing Potions in my bar. I was writing about the 30 sec-Potions.
I dont use elixers and extra pots in co-op. I feel ashame of myself if i do it and makes me feel like a total weakling in front of others…
but when I am alone behind curtains of offline mode i chug em a lot:rolleyes:… makes life easier…, thankfully there’s no side effect from overdose unlike some other game…
Aside from tonic for HP/Energy I dont use any these days, and when I think about it only one I was using was antifreeze pot when farming Mos with low freeze resistance char, that chain freeze was so annoying.
Who is the “Their Duration Never Expires” guy