I've never let the tranny overcome the brakes...but then only knew it did that at the end of last year.

My last set of pads on my profile pic car lasted 45k miles (as I use them so infrequently) preferring to coast to a standstill or up to a junction. I'm almost certain that since I'm covering the brake pedal my reaction time should be better than anyone with their foot on the loud pedal

It also aids economy as don't know anyone else that's managed 900 miles on a tank in a C6 quattro.