I am still using my patch and the first two or three weeks I would chew nicotine gum to get through tough cravings. I cut off the gum a few weeks ago, and am about to step down to 14mg patch. I worked out this plan on day 3 of my quit with the help of my doctor, and I am going to follow it through.
I know cold turkey gets all the nasty done right at the start, but this is the most successful quit attempt of my life so I feel like it's right for me.
I agree that the gum is more similar to smoking, and going to it after patches is probably not the best.
In any case NRT is better than cigarettes.