Originally Posted by Jinn

You'll kindly notice my use of "unless the conditions merit using.." I'm not sure where you're from, but in winter, particularly here in Colorado, engine braking is absolutely essential to survive icy downhill passes, where the loss of traction caused by braking would cause a complete loss of control. Even on solid ice, a vehicle can come to a complete stop in a straight line with engine braking. Even a minor tap of the brakes would cause it to stop, but not in a straight line. It's no longer a cost evaluation between clutch plates and brake pads at the point, but clutch plates or thousands of dollars of body and frame work from the resulting collision(s).