No - it significantly helps dry the demisting air Jerry. Many Japanese cars in the 80's required manually turning on the A/C with the defroster. It was amazing the difference - you could run the heat on high defrost - and just clear a portion of the windshield; almost the instant you hit the a/c compressor button, the rest of the fog on the windshield would begin to disappear. You don't have NEAR the problem with it in FL that folks further north do.
Removing it is a decision only you can make. Cars were offered for years with no a/c - very few are offered that way in the states any longer. Just because they're offered that way doesn't necessarily mean that their defrosters work well during certain times of the year. I grew up driving a 55 Chevy in high school. No a/c. And I ALWAYS carried a rag in the front seat during spring/fall/winter to help 'de-fog' the windshield because the heater/defroster wouldn't do it quickly enough or thoroughly enough. You have to decide for yourself.
As for the heat exchanger battle, the heater will win by a long shot. Temps inside the car are about 70F during the winter. Both evaporator coil and heater core are about the same size (mine occupy the same 'box'). Freon in the coil is at about 36-40F - about a 30F temp. difference with recirculating air. Coolant entering the htr core is at 180-195F depending on t'stat in the car - about a 110-120F difference. With the a/c on, the heated air isn't as warm, but it's still plenty warm to heat the car, and plenty dry to demist the windshield.
