Engines are for going, not for stopping. How fast you can stop is determined by the tires and the available traction. You can easily reach the threshold of the tires using just brakes so the engine won't help you stop any faster. All you are doing is adding stress and wear to the driveline. Brake pads are cheap and that's what they're for and they'll stop you faster than any engine will.
I hit every gear on the downshifts, but it's a matter of preference. If you're going to skip gears on the downshift, then keep in mind that your rev-match will need to be a higher blip than if you hit every gear (the rev difference going from 5th to 2nd is more than 5th to 4th or 4th to 3rd or 3rd to 2nd) - so it's either a bunch of small blips or one big one.
I'd also recommend leaving the car in gear until you're ready to do your one big blip. If you're clutching to neutral, then you're blipping the engine from idle which will require an even bigger blip - much more opportunity for a mis-match and chirping the rear tires which can lead to a spin.
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Brian Kleeman
Nissan 370Z - Pirelli World Challenge GTS #07
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