Rarely. The new pieces are what give problems to the inexperienced Gothic Player [including me at times]. I prefer to keep all the new pieces haphazardly on the board as people usually miss the possibles arising from these 'new' pieces.

To answer your Q. Yes and No.

YES if other factors mitigate that I remove wood from the board quickly [like me being subject to a massive attack], and NO if I am already dominant in material or position. In the long run, the Q is USUALLY more damaging [IMHO] due to its multi-directional range compared with the AB and would most likely get another pawn or two before being removed from the board.

An example is the game which I just sent to Ed. It being a tough game, I was playing with AB-B-R vs N-N-B-R and found it difficult to do anything about the N pair. I think the K has got to go nearer [and risk getting attacked] for an AB to take out 2N in the endgame.

I think the ArchBishop is one of the most valueable pieces in Gothic Chess. My game seems to thrive on the complexities that this piece introduces to Gothic. Although, there comes a time in the game when one is forced to swap or win a Queen for a ArchBishop + Minor piece.

Sooooo...I say look at the position before making these exchanges. Overall though, I like my ArchBishop...I guess its the Catholic in me:)