charbonneau- not sure if you are talking of what I am thinking of--do you mean the button in the brake hood area that you can easily remove the wheel?

if so, I would not suggest doing this because on a few occasions, when I have had a wheel go out of true, this brake release system allows you to continue riding without the rim rubbing against your pads, this is a real saver, especially if you are schlepping weight.
It allows you to continue along without any speed loss (depending of course on how much the wheel is out of whack)

Take a long cable lock with combination lock. Use your good judgement to decide where you need it.

I've had a pannier stolen during a tour, it was a real PITA to replace everything. Make your panniers difficult to remove from the bike, the more time it takes to get the bags off the racks, the better and the less chance for a quick hit and run.

My boyfriend and I tour with a U-lock for each of us and a cable. When we camp we loop the cable around something (picnic table leg? tree?) and then between that and our U-locks, our bikes would be pretty difficult to steal. Or, we'll just wrap the cables up in both bikes and basically lock the bikes to each other. The piece of mind is worth it, especially since he's a deep sleeper and I often sleep with earplugs in. We also often bring our panniers into the tent or the vestibule.

It took me a while to get used to leaving the bags on the bike if we go into a store, but so far (knock on wood) it's been fine. And if a bag did get stolen, it's mostly stinky laundry or food anyway. Anything really valuable (iPod, phone, medications, etc.) goes in a bag that comes with me off the bike, so far it's been my handlebar bag, but on our next tour we're bringing a netbook, so I'm looking into panniers that come off easy and are comfy to carry. (Can't afford the kind that become backpacks, unfortunately. *sigh*)

I can't imagine traveling without locks. I'd be paranoid all the time! It's worth the extra weight for me.