Properties Panel Selection Actions quite confusing.

In the properties panel to the right of the name of whatever you have selected some options pop up such as multi edit, select matching layers, use a mask and/or 3 dots for more options. 
What is odd is that when I select a variant for example from one component those options can be either wildly or subtly different than if I select a variant from another basically identical component. 
It almost seems random to me though I’m sure it is not. 
Is there a resource that could illuminate not so much what is showing when a selection is made but why that particular pop up icon is visible so as to get a better understanding of what inconsistencies might be happening on my end? 

Always curious.