I would add to the reasoning behind the waiting period is to allow also for levels of binding globulin to drop.
Think of all the excess hormones in your body that have either been injected or aromatized, These all need to be out of the picture before you can recover.
drugs like nandrolone and trenbolone - even small traces of them in your body can prevent recover.
If you were doing HCG, the waiting period can allow time for your leydig cells to normalize.
During the waiting period all body physiology is allowed to slowly return to a normal state - with exeption of one link in the hpta.
Following this you only have to worry about one thing - and that is you pituitary begining to secrete LH and your leydig cells responding to this.
If you did the waiting period properly, you should have no problem with this.
Using anyother AAS based compounds during the waiting period with the exeption of masteron in my experience is counter-productive.
Anything that prevents the body from returing to natural state could very likely throw an axe in the entire protocol. For example, using oral proviron, probably not a good plan, better to include an injectable masteron instead, as it is easier to keep the AAS levels around the 100mg/week mark, and with no peaks that would cause a raise in SHBG, which you are trying to lower.
The waiting period is an extremely important part of the test taper. In fact the test taper will not work, without the waiting period, well you are more apt to recover following the waiting period with out the use of the taper period.
As for the use of peptides. This doesn’t effect the hpta at all and therefore can be a good way to maintain size following the taper.
Keep also in mind however that once you go off AAS if you are well above your genetic set-point, there is no way you will keep all your size. That is simply impossible, as your body’s natural test production will be unable to support your skeletal muscle, and since cortisol is no longer being suppressed, you will loose size.
If you are still below your set point, then you shouldn’t loose much size, just water retention.