How to to stop html editor from addig <p> tags to shortcodes, images, etc

Question

I know this this is covered as individual topics but What I am looking for is a single function that stops <p> tags from being wrapped around via the Wordpress editor to shortcodes and images and also removes empty <p> tages, for example:

• remove <p> tags that get wrapped around shortcodes, i.e., <p>[shortcode]</p>
• remove empty <p></p> tags
• remove <p> tags with whitespace, i.e., <p> </p> or <p> </p> etc.
• remove <p> tags that get wrapped around <img> tags, i.e., <p><img blabla /></p>

I have been using a few different functions that take $content and strips out the <p> tags via preg_replace() but I can not figure out how to get all four requirements to work in a single function.

Its seems like too much overhead to run $content through four different functions before $content is displayed.

Also can you recommend a good source to learn how to use all the agreements for preg_replace()?