Board Thread:Naruto Discussions/@comment-35448581-20150520162940/@comment-734582-20150521102605

Minato had his extremely powerful Flying Raijin + Rasengan combo which probably got him out of just about every fight. Hence never truly having to use other elements (in the story as we know).

Considering the power at which Hokage fight, it may simply be that they mastered low-level jutsu that aren't of sufficient power in a Kage fight.