DIsagree with your number 12. The BEST way for traffic to merge with the least delay is if everybody stays in the merging lanes up until the merge point, and then mixes in an “every-other” fashion.
People pulling into the merged lane a half-mile before the end of the lane just slow down the merged lane at the expense of the merging lane.
There’s a reason the merging lane goes on to when it ends. If they wanted people to merge a half-mile earlier, they would have ended the road a half-mile earlier.
So I ALWAYS drive to the end of a merge lane, and then merge. And you know, in almost EVERY case, at that point the merged lane is starting to pick up speed, and there are natural gaps so I can get in without slowing anybody else down.
That said, I do somewhat dislike people who pull OUT of the merged lane into a merge lane that has been cleared, just to cut in front of 4-5 people and pull back in.