The drawback with coasting in gear is that it has the (sometimes undesirable) effect of also engine braking, so you can't do it for very far without slowing down, unless you're on a very steep incline. In neutral with the engine off, you can coast for miles, so it really is worth it, in the right situations (if you're hell-bent on getting the highest gas mileage possible).
The loss of power brakes and power steering is not so bad if you know what you're doing. Braking with the handbrake is not so hard, just increases stopping distance. Also there's a little residual "power" in the brakes so if you have to stop quickly in an emergency you still can. Losing power steering is not so bad in my car, but in a heavier car it would probably suck.
btw kidrock, there are very few production cars out there without power brakes. Nearly every consumer grade car has a brake booster powered by vacuum from the engine.
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