Sure, no problem - performance will be almost the same as if when you would do it inline at every SELECT. I don't think this should be any problem at all - quite the contrary, putting this into an UDF seems like a really good idea! (to keep your T-SQL code clean and simple).
Yes, it's a bad idea because you should put all your score weights in a table and perform a join to get the result.
I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.