Finally got around to reading your blog! I feel consistency is the most important for any programming job. Find a style and stick with it, or have one forced on you. I learned that at uni when first learning C – our lecturer gave us marks on whether we followed his style guide.

I am not a PHP developer, but when I have used it I have found the quotations annoying. I did not know the differences in them, however. I agree with your example, the last one makes the most sense to me.