I'm on my 7th MB, and somewhere along the line I've developed a strong habit of treating my automatic transmission almost like a manual. For the sake of conversation, I'll use my 95 E320 as an example - Bottom line, I shift between 'D' and '3' a LOT. On a fifteen minute drive I might shift back and forth a dozen times (to help decelerate at traffic lights, and occasionally for faster starts). Sometimes I'll even use ALL the lower gears (in the case of the 95 E320, that would just mean 3, and 2) to help decellerate.

Here's the question:
Am I saving wear and tear on my brakes and possibly helping fuel efficiency, or am I putting dangerous, useless wear and tear on my A/T? If there is no clear answer to that one, perhaps you could just answer this - do you think it is a BAD thing, or would you guess it is mostly harmless?

Any opinions would be appreciated - the more educated that better!

Thanks for reading - thanks even more if your respond!