I think I would ride harder if I had a brake, but I feel like I would be asleep at the wheel because I would always have my fall back stopping option of the brake. So going faster with less concentration is not any safer then riding brakeless IMO. I skip all the time when I need to ditch some speed, but rarely skid. Skidding is not really effective for fast decelerations unless you are doing some type of hockey style skidding. I find myself skidding more for fun then for function. My preferred way of speed management is looking ahead down the rode and managing my speed with back pedaling.