[mrguyorama]

>engaging the engine braking requires feathering the brake long enough to get it to downshift.

What? No, you put in the clutch, pull out of gear into neutral, rev match up to the engine speed for the lower gear, plop the shifter into it, release the clutch. What do you use the friction brakes for? Hell, you can skip the rev matching completely if you don't mind clutch wear and jerkiness.

[FractalParadigm]

Even with a DSG-equipped car like the parent likely has, you can use the "manual" mode ("M" on the shifter) and downshift to as low as the car will allow. This also has the benefit of 'preparing' the transmission for further downshifting, as it will pre-select the next gear down instead of up. My car is indeed a 6MT, and downshifting happens exactly as described.