90% of the time, my old stand by is the Seymour Duncan Distortion SH-6 or more commonly TB-6.
It sounds perfect in most guitars (to me) I have run the whole spectrum with choosing pups over the years. . . Actives, passives, Gibsons, Duncans, EMGs, DiMarzios.... and I have found a few chosen pickups that sound good in most applications. Sort of learning what I like and hate in every different scenario:
Listening to videos by the dozens, talking with gurus of tone, and learning for myself thru trial and error: what to look for if a guitar is too dark, or too bright, or lacks body or dynamics... and how to correct it.... all in the frame of reference that I live in, Metal.
Here is my extra 2 cents worth of opinion for anyone who cares to listen to me just ramble on.
Gibson pickups are plain vanilla and I don't like them: except the 500t which is great, and the BB3 which I am growing very fond of.
DiMarzio makes the X2N and it's brutal in the right guitar. But most of their pickups I don't like at all.
Dean pickups bleh... the Michael Amott tyrant pickup was ok, rest are boring.
Jackson pickups....all sucked.
Bc rich pickups.... hot, likeable but not lovable.
Seymour Duncan TB6, black winter, EMTY Blackouts, invader, and the Alt8 are my favorites by far. Sometimes the Dimebucker if it's in a Floyd guitar.
EMGs 81/85 are great if you like that sound, they are really great if you have a guitar that just sounds dead and weak and nothing seems to help.
I wish you well on your search for tone, my friend.... it is a worthwhile rabbit hole indeed.