As I get older, I realize I'm getting older because I do fewer stupid things, like removing safeties. Either I'm getting smarter, or the safeties are getting harder to remove. When I was young, dumb, invincible, 10 feet tall and bullet proof, yeah, I did a lot of stupid things. Some of which, I'm glad to say I survived them, but have no idea how.
I hadn't thought about a hanger on my QH for the shaft, but unless I can couple the shaft before I hook up with the QH, there's no way I'm reaching that u-joint at the chipper end. I like the release on it better. I used the chain for the shaft guard to keep the tractor end u-joint outta the dirt when I'm not using the chipper.
I spent a lotta time on an old 8N when I was a kid in the 70's, and like the other poster pointed out, I've seen (and had to remove) a lot of kudzu from the shaft of a bush-hog that didn't have any guards whatsoever. I figured out one day it was easier to slide the shaft apart at the splines and pull the shaft halves out of the kudzu ball than it was to cut it off. I've also seen the hay wrap on a rake while rolling a windrow. Talk about a messy hairball to get off. I'm really beginning to like the decreased exposure of rotating parts.
Even with all the guards, I ain't getting anywhere near a rotating shaft. That's a gruesome death waiting to happen.