LOL - I don't work for Ford or Getrag... ;)
I should add - for a high-speed shift - the extra inertia adds mass which can assist to complete the shift, particually at the peak spike of synchro effort. This is very minor however - and is merely a by-product of the actual intended purpose of increasing shift comfort for the driver...
And another thought on the removal causing damage to the trans - well, something (the synchro) is wanting to move - and in turn move the shifter. This mass prevents it being able to dissipate the oscillations up the shifter and out of the transmissions - hence in theory - one could argue that removing the damper would be better for the synchros!
Reality is - you'd not notice the difference in the life of a transmission; driver abuse will have more of a factor in synchro/transmission life.
