OK, so the more I read about how scripts operate, the more I'm convinced that a simpler approach is needed. The good news is, I have the simpler approach figured out, to an extent,

This is what I was planning, generally speaking:

-Script start

-NPCs differentiate between player and followers

-NPCs favor attacking player

-Attack against player applies a spell

-Script end

OK, so that seemed to be getting confusing, so this is the alternative strategy:

-Script start

-NPCs attack whichever target is nearest (presumably the player, since the player usually triggers NPC attacks)

-On successful strike against target, wait "x" seconds

-After "x" seconds, apply spell

-Script end

Although there are as many steps to complete the alternative script as there are to complete the original script, the complications of "finding the player" and attacking the player first are completely removed, leaving the assumption that the player will be attacked first based on the fact that the player should initiate combat or stumble blindly upon the NPCs.

The simplicity of the alternative will also allow for the inclusion of a timer before the spell is applied; since this spell mimics paralysis poisons, the timer will give the illusion of the poison working into the circulatory system of the victim before it takes effect.

The only questions left are, "Where can I find (nearly) specific instructions for something similar?" and, "How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?"

Honestly, despite the extensive reading that I've done, I still have no idea how to "phrase" things; I have done the Bethesda tutorial, but there doesn't seem to be any indication that it can actually help my case.