since you are the person I know of to talk about Dark Souls, is there an actual strategy to getting through the Catacombs beyond "run like a madman and hope you find the Necromancers before the skeletons kill you"?
Absolutely. The Catacombs can be done in a timely, calm manner if you just keep moving. If you know where to go, you just go, and if you don’t, just jog around the place, never staying still, and kill the Necromancers and then the Skeletons once again to keep them down permanently. Or, if those Skeletons are really giving you a lot of trouble, get yourself a Divine weapon, either by crafting one or by just using a weapon that has innate Divine in it, such as Silver Knight Sword or Silver Knight Spear. If you kill a Skeleton with a Divine weapon, it stays down permanently, even if you have not killed the Necromancer. Have fun!