is it more appropriate to use a bendpoint or a via for traces coming together? Assuming all are on one side of the board?
I would personally try to keep them on one side. But sometimes routing will get the best of a situation.
Try to keep via’s to a minimum, only use a via when you absolutely need one.
It reduces production time, and thus costs. I hear some fab houses still charge extra cost per via.
Less via’s can also reduce debugging time, though in some case it can make a board look nicer if all horizontals are on one side and all verticals on the other. If you have the time to go that far…