Let's assume I want to go one further and say that "@value" has
  precedent over "@name" which has precedent over ".". Would adding
   @value to the end of that give it first priority?

in xpath2 that's

(@value,@name,.)[1]

David

________________________________________________________________________
The Numerical Algorithms Group Ltd is a company registered in England
and Wales with company number 1249803. The registered office is:
Wilkinson House, Jordan Hill Road, Oxford OX2 8DR, United Kingdom.

This e-mail has been scanned for all viruses by Star. The service is
powered by MessageLabs. 
________________________________________________________________________