dharch,
Without anything selected double click on the desired tool. Change the settings to what you would like them to be by default. This will then work until you change a setting. But presumably things such as font, text style and text sizes will not often be touched.
I would save this to a template file and use this for all new projects.
HTH
Erich
AC 19 6006 & AC 20
Mac OS 10.11.5
15" Retina MacBook Pro 2.6
27" iMac Retina 5K