I love your thoughts on this. However, I've always thought of Juliet's choice in a different way. If she refuses to marry Paris, she will be disowned by her parents. She does not know Paris is dead, as he dies in previous scene in a different part of the set. In fact, productions I've seen often remove Paris death completely, as it is messy for the character of Romeo.
Friar Lawrence offers to take her to a convent, but leaves without waiting for her answer. So what choice does she have? In her mind, no good options. But even with all this, the applause is still interesting.