You can always just drive with the foot on the clutch pedal. I do that all the time when slowing down on flat ground. Nothing sketchy about that.

Doesn't engine breaking put stress on the clutch and gearbox? If I were concerned about wear on my car, I'd be a lot more worried about those parts than on the break pads and disks, which are specifically designed to handle such stresses and much cheaper to replace when they are worn out.