The type of campaign will always have an affect on a character class's effectiveness. While characters are seldom "pointless," as could happen in prior editions, different classes often provide similar roles. In an undead campaign, a light cleric is going to be way more effective than a glamour bard, even though they may provide somewhat similar roles. Conversely, in a battle heavy campaign, a valor/sword bard is going to be more effective than a knowledge cleric.
So it really comes down to what you want, as a player (assuming you know the campaign theme beforehand). If you're worried about your effectiveness, then with the bard you should consider planning on taking valor, sword, or even lore (picking up some radiant damage spells with Secrets). If you want to have maximum effectiveness, then take the light or life cleric. Since you can almost always contribute no matter your character, you can always choose to play whatever appeals most to you.
