Breast feeding to sleep is a difficult habit to break because it's not just the milk that forms the comfort mechanism, it is also being cuddled physically close to you that forms part of the same comforting mechanism.
Feeding to sleep in itself is not a problem. But it is a problem if you want to stop feeding to sleep before baby does because baby will know of no other way to feel comforted enough to go to sleep.
The most obvious alternate settling method that isn't feeding to sleep is cosleeping. This keeps the physical closeness baby was used to when breastfeeding, but without feeding. As you have found, that is likely to be the 'easiest' alternate you have now not breastfeeding. It will be far more successful than the bottle because the comfort of bfing to sleep wasnt milk, it was the close cuddles.
The next result being that the most common outcome for families who stop feeding to sleep is to start embracing co sleeping as a more perminant and long term thing (by long term I don't mean forever, but accepting it might be a few years rather than thinking it as an arrangement only for few weeks/months).
Of course, cosleeping is not your only option. You havent cornered yourself to have no other options. But any other options are likely to involve some crying. This does not mean leaving your baby to cry, you being there to comfort. But crying nonetheless.
If you do want baby sleeping independantly instead of cosleeping, then a more consistant approach would be needed than you are currently using. Your methods read quite dis-jointed and lacking in a real plan.
I would suggest starting with the premise that baby will go to sleep in the cot (instead of being rocked) and you do all of your comforting if baby whilst in the cot. Yes, there will be crying in doing this. It is an unavoidable fact.