Binding BSA to silver surface via large difference in isoelectric points of the two materials
Concerning the apparent discrepancy between your first and second citations, the difference in values is addressed by the authors in the more recent work:

Perusal of the literature yields few IEP values for silver metal. Chau and Porter reported an IEP of 10.4 for an evaporated silver film as determined by contact angle titration.(6) The method employed in their investigation used only neutral and basic liquids, and the maximum contact angle achieved on the silver films was ∼35°, in contrast to the maximum we observe of 52° at pH 3.2 (Figure 1d). This dichotomy may be indicative of the amphoteric behavior of the native oxide at the surface.


Concerning your third citation where the authors bound BSA to silver via a 2-mercaptoethanesulphonate linkage monolayer, the authors give their reasoning in the abstract:

The direct adsorption of proteins on metal surfaces usually leads to loss of their enzymatic activity

So, to answer one of your questions

Why the need for this if the silver should attract the BSA electrostatically?

BSA here is a proxy for other proteins.  The purpose of the research was to examine how the structure of the linkage monolayer changed in response to protein adsorption, not how BSA specifically binds a silver substrate.