I'd say you are saving on peanuts. Most of Monteros/Pajeros around the world run without hubs and CVs survive long long time. Arguably you might be doing them disservice since while they are turning grease being pushed around lubricating everything. Conversely when they are sitting still grease will settle down, try to engage 4WD especially in cold and you might damage the put. But main problems is current state of affairs obviously affects safety where you could be in AWD you have to use 2WD. Potential problems from lack of control of icy roads IMHO far outweigh any possible savings on CVs.

Well, I usually run em locked in from November till April. But its nice to have the option to unlock one if you wreck a cv. Also nice to run 2LLC when moving the trailer around in tight spaces - don't wanna do that with the hubs locked and drivetrain binding....

In any event, I'd agree that the having the hub flanges on there right now would be preferable to 2wd, if the hubs are indeed the problem. Hindsight is 20/20 though, right?