I have a few optimization questions about SQL queries.

First, what syntax would be preferred to join two tables:

... FROM (Table_1 INNER JOIN Table_2 ON Table_1.Col = Table_2.Col)
INNER JOIN Table_3 ON Table_1.Col = Table_3.Col ...

or

... FROM Table_1, Table_2, Table_3 WHERE Table_1.Col = Table_2.Col AND
Table_1.Col = Table_3.Col ...

Second, is a JOIN or a Subquery usually most efficient:

SELECT Customer.CustomerID, Customer.CustomerName, Status.StatusName
FROM Customer INNER JOIN Status on Customer.Status = Status.StatusID

or

SELECT CustomerID, CustomerName, (SELECT StatusName FROM Status WHERE Status.StatusID = Customer.Status) AS Status
FROM Customer