[EDIT] Anyway, aside from your suggestion of "if false", yes writing code to make diffs smaller or cleaner is good in my opinion. On this specific point, why not just start with "if check 1"?
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If you start with if check 1 (such as in w.sh), a refactor-er would have to s/elif/if on check 2 and s/if/elif on check 1 if he wants to swap their order. By having all of the checks start with elif (such as in w2.sh), the refactor-er can change the order of the checks without having to modify them, making cleaner diffs.
If you start with if check 1 (such as in w.sh), a refactor-er would have to s/elif/if on check 2 and s/if/elif on check 1 if he wants to swap their order. By having all of the checks start with elif (such as in w2.sh), the refactor-er can change the order of the checks without having to modify them, making cleaner diffs.