Good luck fabbing up fasteners to hold the plastic defroster vent to the metal substrate 2"+ below. The reason the "ugly" fix exists as it does is because it not only serves as a new base for the defroster cover it also clamps down the pad material preventing it from delaminating. Your solution WILL NOT do that.
The airbag is a completely separate module that is bolted to the structure underneath and independent from the dash. Removing the dash does not affect the airbag.
