Need help with applying Twist deformers to extruded curve

[chuckl]

I'm trying to recreate a soft, 'wavy' twisted look (the blue wavy tube image) by using overlapping Nonlinear Twist Deformers in Maya, but the twist deformer doesn't have a soft 'falloff' (as seen in the black and white image). I looked at painting deformer attribute weights, but got overwhelmed. Any advice would be appreciated.