In my mind if it shorts it's because the stop solenoid has failed internally....unless some grease-monkey is in there with a wrench at the time.

If it fails internally it's gonna snap closed most likely, fuse or none.
The purpose of the fuse is to protect the wiring back to the battery... 14ga can handle at least 20A-ish so I'd use a 10-15A fuse... just off the top of my head. To Andrew's point, you want something hefty enough that it won't weaken over time and then fade in the middle of some train tracks somewhere.
I should dig up my MK3 schematics and see if the revised version of the glowplug system they use is fused. I believe it is on TDIs.... but will confirm.
So tapping in to a circuit underneath the dash should be a no brainier eh? How many come from the ignition for power while cranking? I would assume just one or two.. one for stop solenoid, one for the 50pin on the starter eh?
I will see what I can't figure out, does the Haynes manual cover what lines are hot while cranking??
Yes I know, I know. I do not have a Bentley.. If I did, i wouldn't need you guys

amazing though, for people who swear by it.. I have done four, almost five years with an Mk1 and no real issues. lol Now I have three mk1's and an mk2 to look after.