Fair point that Andy wouldn't want to be seeded lower than 8th for the Australian Open. Although if he was a seed 9 to 12, he would be bracketed with a seed 5 to 8 for the L16 and still not be due to come across a top 4 seed until the QF.
His actions for now are interesting, given various recent discussions and certain contradictions, not least from Andy.
Hopefully that becomes Shenzen, Beijing and Basel.
Think Shenzen is a very good call. Considering his USO form, this is his best chance to win a tournament since Queens, and it's time for Andy to get a W on his breakdown. There's David, Dicky and Agut in the Top 4 seeds with him. There's nobody there for Andy to 'fear' because his performances against Tsonga and Nole (first two sets) proved that he should be back to a level capable of beating them.
I would think that after playing Shenzen, Beijing and Shanghai he would want a couple of weeks off before playing Paris and hopefully the WTF. Playing Basel or Valencia would only be likely if he was still struggling to make the the WTF.