When I had my 99 ES I was driving at about 50MPH along this business parkway at night w/my girlfriend. It used to be a 4 lane straightaway but the city was fixing this street and making it turn in to it. There was like a temporary divider up, I didn't go to the left because it looked as if it led into oncomming traffic, it was also hard to see and there was also no sign so I went to the right.
It looked like a normal lane then all of a sudden it just ended and there was like gravel then a huge trench, instead of freaking out I quickly downshifted with the autostick and hit the brakes, didn't slam on them though cause I didn't want to slide or skid. I was a couple feet away from the trench. I strongly beleive that the ABS helped a lot in that situation!
I also had a situation where I was just about 10 feet away from a big late model Chevy extra cab pickup that decided to fly in front of me at the last minute when I was driving at about 35-40MPH. There was also a lot of gravel on the road cause of nearby construction. I hit the brakes pretty hard and the vehicle didn't skid or slide, It just stopped. I have been really impressed with the braking ability w/ABS.
I'd keep the ABS but it's up to you man.
Take care, Trep lightly
MoparPerformance
A glance at my old 99ES.....