Partial view for frequently used drop down lists
I'm new to MVC (relatively), but I don't think I'll ever plan on doing too much in a view. In my understanding, it's merely a template for an object (view model) you throw at it. There shouldn't be much server-side functionality in there at all. Getting data from a database and selecting a SelectList from this collection is too much. There isn't enough separation between concerns of presentation and functionality.

Get that database call into a controller (or better still, a business layer) and keep your views simple. Then you can decide whether you want to call this new action asynchronously or not.