Pros and cons of shortcut join in universe?

Hi,

I have a scenario like I have a universe tables which has joins like A->B->C-> D and also there is join b/w A->C, now to avoid loop i have created shortcut joins b/w A->C. now my question is, If I select a table A,C and D, then which path it will take to generate the result?

and what is advantage and disadvantage of shortcut join?

Looking for your valuable answers.

Thanks