Usage of "rather than"

1.) I would expect that 95% of the time that you would see the form "X rather than Y". However, it is also correct to write "Rather than Y, X" as in, "Rather than a glass of Pepsi, please give me a glass of Coke." You could also have some series in the form of, "Rather than A, B, or C, D" as in, "Rather than walk, bike, or drive, I take the subway to work."

2.) I can't think of any other forms of "Rather than" outside of what I mentioned above.

3.) The meaning of "rather than" and "instead of" is really close. The only difference to me is that "rather than" expresses a preference, while "instead of" suggests something was replaced or took priority over something else. But really, you could use them nearly interchangeably.