Hi Darin, I don't post too much here but I wanted to share that I see myself in you. In many ways we think the same. I tried to do what you are trying to do for years. I am not saying that it will not work for you but it never worked for me.
I could cut down sure, but I never could reach zero. No matter how much I wanted to, I never could do it. I always had an excuse or told myself some story about why I needed or could have more than my plan called for.
No matter how easy or slow I made my taper, it didn't matter. I spent I don't know how many hours or nights creating new plans that I would never stick to.
Eventually I wasted too much time and one night I suddenly and very unexpectedly found myself physically addicted. It took a few days to figure out what was happening to me but as soon as I figured it out, I took myself to a hospital. They admitted me for a stay and helped me break that addiction.
I am not saying my answer is your answer but your posts in this thread could easily be mine. My answer is I can no longer drink alcohol.
I am not going to lie to you and tell you that answer was or is super easy but it's been just over a year now and it's working for me so far. None at all is the only thing that has worked for me.
I looked at it as stepping over a large gap. It was very scary but once I had done it, as long as I choose to stay on the other side, I never have to do it again.
You can do it too man.