You are making a common mistake here. You are thinking only about what impact your formatting has on what you see in Paratext. But Paratext is your tool, not your outcome. Think of formatting as labels that identify your text or handles that allow you to grab and do what you want with specific types of text. Paratext is quite limited in its ability to show you what the formatting will or can actually look like. It is not meant to do more than differentiate.
\sc … \sc*, for example is formatting that does not identify the type of text it is handling. It is direct formatting and so can be used for a mixed type of data. And it does usually get all the way through to your publication as small caps.
\nd…\nd* is formatting that specifically identifies your data as a name of Deity. You should only use it for its intended purpose. For example, you would not want to use it for the sign on the cross (unless you used it only for God’s name on the sign) or for mene, mene, tekel, upharsin…
For either, in your output software you will define exactly the format you wish for the marked up text. Small, Caps, Bold, Italicized, Underlined, Colored Red, some or all of the above in fact.
