When I have to make a panic stop, I use both brakes. I lock up the rear brake (assuming that surface conditions wouldn't make a skid dangerous), and modulate the front brake to get me stopped. I use the locked rear wheel to help me feel the 'float' of the rear end.
As a kid I learned to do stoppies on my BMX bike and various tricks built off of that. Now that I ride MTBs and road bikes, I still practice stoppies. I mainly do stoppies jsut because it's a fun trick, but after hundreds of repititions, it also teaches me the balance points of my bike and how much force I can apply before I go flying.
Last week, a truck pulled out in front of me and without my front brakes, I would have pancaked into it. I was doing a rear-wheel-in-the-air stoppie right up to the truck. Thank God I got it stopped about 3 inches from impact.
People who are afraid of their front brake should go out to a parking lot and get used to it. Start off slowly and practice, practice, practice until you're comfortable using it in a panic situation. It may save you a nasty collision someday.