I agree with that priorities list. Imagine the impact of the order to prioritize DDs must have made, especially to the crewmembers not conning the boat! Everybody knew that when tangling with DDs the advantages were all to the DD.
Of course the Japanese weren't as tenacious in pursuing subs as the game is, most of the time. But if you were bright enough to shoot a torpedo at them you could bet they might take that a bit personally and all bets on them calling off the hunt were likely over.
Your best shot at a DD was if they were never aware of your presence until the boom!