I wouldn't use V-Vocal for something like this, I much prefer using a track volume envelope - it's labour intensive but so what?
Gates are too unpredictable, V-Vocal is introducing another, unnecessary level of processing, and any sort of Process > Apply Effect is inherently destructive. If you make a pigs ear out of it you can't get back to square one unless you have a safety copy of the track, and even then, you'd have to start over again.
Nope, volume automation all the way here