Say you had a flat fast course Iron distance. No technical turning and could figure out how to put the brakes somewhere...for sake of argument put them at the tips of the aero bars and had the push button shifters somewhere down the tubes. (humor me)

What would the aero savings be if you removed the base bar? I am trying to figure out why the need for them and why they stick out as far as they do only to hold the brakes? I understand the need for handle bars on a beach cruiser but on a tt bike it seems they would just catch wind?

humor me here but for sake of discussion...