Hey,
I program my drums from hardware synth modules like the Roland XV-5050 and Emu Proteus 2000, I use Cubase to sequence them...I also sample drums off audio cd's, chop them up and add other sounds to them in Cool Edit, and save them out as entire drum loops...then I bring them into Cubase and play them along with my drums from my hardware synths.
Take care,
Nick