Back when I wrote my
Combine BG script, I remember working on a similar concept. I started with the idea that the paste buffer could be used to hold the layer that was to be combined and so the command would be either "Paste" or "Paste Behind" to Overlay or Combine with each of the targeted layers.
This did not work out very well because the paste buffer gets centered relative to the target layer when pasting, resulting in the pasted image "moving" around unless all of the layers were the same size and in the same location. I then added a way to resize all of the layers to the image size but this only offered a partial solution -- the pasted image no longer moved around but unless the paste buffer contained an image-sized graphic, the position would still be centered in the image. Basically the paste buffer approach was a dead end.
Nonetheless, at the time I had written this, my script expanded to support several different operations on multiple layers, not just pasting and resizing. However, I did this in a way that fits my own quirky thought processes to which many might object. Mainly, I did not want to have special options that could be accomplished by just running the script additional times. For example, hiding a set of layers would entail showing the layers and then toggling their visibility; or rotating layers counter-clockwise could be accomplished by rotating clockwise and then pressing CTRL-f twice. I think this approach might still has merit, especially if you start getting into dozens of operations.
Here are the options I'd provided:
SF-OPTION "Limit to" '( "All layers"
"Visible"
"Linked"
"Above active"
"Below active" )
SF-TOGGLE "Include Active Layer" TRUE
SF-OPTION "Operation" '( "Do nothing"
"Add alpha channel"
"Autocrop"
"Layer to image size"
"Clear selected"
"Paste"
"Paste behind"
"Apply layer mask"
"Flip"
"Rotate 90" )
SF-OPTION "Disposition" '( "Unchanged"
"Set visible"
"Set linked"
"Toggle visibility"
"Toggle linkage" )
For whatever it's worth, here is the
link to the script I wrote (it did not, of course, support layer groups). I also recall making a later version that copied the active layer's blend mode or opacity to the target layers, but I can't locate the code for that.
PS: Not to be a grammar nazi, but your first option should be titled "Layers to
Affect", not "Layers to Effect".