Parzival

If you're looking in shadesmar while they are in the physical realm then I would assume they are just another bead, unless god metals look differently when viewed in shadesmar. If you were to take a honorblade into the cognitive realm then it would likely still be a sword since that's just what they are, same as nightblood or Azure's sword.

I agree with pretty much everything else you said, but this bit is actually wrong. Shards are not infinite, they're just so powerful that they have basically infinte power, unless going up agaisnt something else on the same level, like another shard. We have proof of this in Mistborn, Preservation had to give up a part of himself ot create humans, which made him weaker than Ruin, therefore shards don't have infinite power.

You have to know what something was to make it change. I don't see how making a ball of light is a cool bonus, thats just a basic illusion. Like I said before, anyone with illumination could create something like that.

It's metnioned that some of the lightweavers couldn't make perfect illusions and especially struggled with sounds when they first started, and I don't see how progression has anything to do with making a ball of light so I don't think this would be a resonance. It looks like the sort of thing anyone with illumination could create

Even if Bondsmith's are more invested per oath, which Is actually backed up by the fused's comments that Dalinar's abilities may have functioned in Urithiru during the take over, they don't have more investiture at their disposal at once than another radiant. The stormlight is the investiture they use to fuel their magic, unlike in allomancy where the metal is just hte key to the investiture, and they have limits to how much they can hold at once, so bondsmiths would be limited as well. Also, not all bondsmiths can create light, so far we only know that the sibling bondsmith can. So bonsmith's abilities can't just override limits based purely on a hgiher use of investiture.

Renarin has illumination, it just works a little differently, kinda like how Dalinar and Kaladin share adhesion but have vastly different power sets. He is shows to be able to make a glowing ball of light when playing with some kids in RoW, that would be illumination

And a seeker misting or mistborn could hear listeners rhythms I believe there's a WoB on it, so I think allomantic rhythm's work on a similar principle to the listener's rhythms

I'd say that when in the cognitive realm nightblood would remain a sword, like Azure's blade, cause I don't know if it would have been very easy for vasher to bring nightblood to roshar if he turned into a human in the cognitive realm. While in the physical realm I think nightblood would appear as a flame to those in the cognitive realm, tho it would almost certainly be different in some way from most people's flames.

The dawnshards grant "the breath of understanding of a deity" to any who hold them so that a mortal is able to completely understand their power and use it to its fullest extent. You don't need the understanding to use one.

I had forgotten he was unaware for a bit, but I figure that could be just a side effect of being so close to death and then being pumped full of investiture. I agree, especially since Returned retain skills and talents even after having their memories wiped.

I think that most cognitive shadows would still retain identity and be the same person from before they died, not just a copy. We see when kelsier dies that he is not pulled into the beyond before his cognitive shadow is stabalized by the well. Instead the well seems to somhow fuel his continued existance, and I think there is a change that a cognitive shadow's spiritweb is altered, allowing it to persist eternally and not recognize age as a changing factor. So Returned have to absorb a breatha weak to fuel the divine breath that tells their spiritweb to ignore age, whereas someone like keslier's spiritweb has been permanently altered to have this change. Probably a lot of holes in this thoery, but I thought it was an interesting take.

I agree, the strength of the intent would not lessen, but perhaps it would be easier to break through the resistance if one side was weaker. However, I think it should be possible for him to meld the intents to create a knew one, capable of both ruining and preserving. That way he could act, perhaps in ruining something, to preserve something else, fulfilling both intents

Thank you, I agree, not massive spoilers, and very much like Hoid to do, not to hard to see it coming.

Could you give me a hint? I'm not certain what I'm looking for.

It would be harder, but the investiture in the god metal isn't actively fighting agianst the awakening so I still think it would be possible, tho it may take an awakener of the same level as the God King to accomplish it