Yes, it happens. Some people like having clean lines on their fixie project. A bent and rusty empty brazeon can cause a nasty cut.

The great thing about private property is that you get to do what you want to the things you own. If that means making a Cervelo Tallbike or a Hetchins Fixie, it's your call.

Here's the thing, they're called BRAZE-ONS for a reason. They're added to the frame by melting a little brass and brazing them in place. They werent cast or forged into the frame tubes themselves, they were added AFTERWARD.

All those people who get butthurt about nice old frames being "fixed/dremeled/butchered" need to take a chill pill and realize that braze-ons are cheap, and it doesn't cost that much to have a decent metalworker add brake or derailleur cables back before you send your restoration off to be painted, at which point your bike will look as good as new, and perhaps better, since YOU decide where you want those brazeons to go, or decide that internal cable routing would be a cool thing to add to your restoration, and can have your brazer add rack mounts, light mounts, or any other fittings you want to make your bike the way YOU want it.

If you're doing a top notch resto, the cost of brazeon replacement is basically a rounding error.

If you're not, if you just like getting worked up, well, that's your right as well.