caboblanco, I can tell you, far beyond the shadow of a doubt that AA, recognizing what my AV is and preplanning how to get past it, this message board, and an excellent support system are the reasons that I am sober today.
I have had 3 serious attempts at getting sober previously. One was white knuckling which is your theory of "just stop drinking". The second and third were sitting like a bump on a log at AA meetings and also trying the cognitive approach in SMART Recovery. This final time I am in AA and working the program as it's intended to be worked. Along with the other tools that I use that I mentioned previously.
Here's what I found. There are various degrees of alcoholism and how people choose to get sober is not a one size fits all answer. I stand, applaud, and respect whatever it is that a person chooses to do in order to get and to remain sober and I could care less if it's going to AA, using SR and reading, doing rational recovery, or doing 20 cartwheels a day while pushing a pig in a wheelbarrow. All the more power to them. The fact that they found something that works is the point.