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AU is the unusual case in this family because both fixed boxes hold a vowel. That single fact shapes all eighty four words in the group.
With the second and third boxes both spoken for by vowels, every consonant has to fit into the first, fourth and fifth. It leaves very little room, which is why only one word in the whole group manages a doubled letter.
L follows the AU in eighteen words, more than any other letter, and N and R take another twenty between them. Those three cover thirty eight of the list.
CAUSE, FAULT and SAUCE are the three you are most likely to be hunting for. GAUGE and LAUGH are the awkward spellings, and both catch people out for the same reason, a G that refuses to sound like one.
Endings lean toward S and T, with twenty one and fourteen words each. PAUSE, SAUCE and GAUZE land on a silent E instead, which suits the long sound the AU makes.
G and S each start twelve and eleven of these words, the two highest, so those are the sensible early tests.
English never settled on one sound for AU. LAUGH and GAUGE both drift a long way from the vowel you would expect, which is why they slip your mind when guessing.
Yes, around half the group. D, B, G and S each take six or fewer, giving SAUCE, HAUTE and SAUTE among others.
They differ by one letter, so as a pair they are wasteful. Pick one and spend the other turn on something with a different fourth letter, like VAULT or PAUSE.