I have no idea if they are required by some obscure law, or if it is just tradition. Probably the latter. I don't know anyone who has ever used the panic button in a panic, but almost everyone can remember hitting it by accident.
It sounds crazy, but it works.
Removal was super easy to do and reversible. When I opened the remote (like to replace the battery) it was simple to pop out the circuit board, remove the plastic button, and set it aside.
I can still stick my finger into the void and press on the membrane switch directly to activate it if I really need to, but it prevents me accidentally triggering it because something was pressing into my pocket.
New fob unfortunately doesn't allow that, but it's recessed a bit more and is less likely to be hit.
Useless feature is like to disable as well.
Ol' Dirty Bastard sure knows his way around cars, I tell ya.