To me the arcane trickster spells are more about utility out of combat.
But it depends on your party in the end. I combat, you need damage and controle, and some lvl1 spells are very good for control already. Fog cloud for example. Or grease, color spray and sleep. If no other spellcaster is casting this kind of spell, it can be handy.
But usually you'll prefer either defenses (at lvl7 the arcane trickster can get blur or mirror image), buffs (longstrider is exceptional for example), or other utility (disguise self, misty step, invisibility, charm person...)