M.F.
I have several friends who successfully did the gradual snipping. Snip the tip, then every 3 days, snip a little more until the rubber is gone. And, you're right on to do it as early as possible!
However, my son didn't follow the "rules" about getting over it quickly! We snipped the ends at 20 months and my son was so sad, and had sad bedtimes for nearly 2 months after we got rid of the paci's. After I realized he was grinding his teeth after he finally went to sleep, I bought two new pacis. Two months later we took it away again and he didn't have a single problem.