Intel Management Engine - How serious?

Greetings,

This is my first post on this forum. I'm really enjoying Trisquel! There's a strong possibility it may become my main operating system.

I currently have a Dell XPS 13, which I kind of hate. I'm strongly considering replacing it with one of the liberbooted Thinkpad models. One thing I've been thinking about, though, is how serious a problem is the Intel Management Engine? Granted, I am aware of the recent exploit that was discovered. I am also aware that many aspects of it are freakishly close to the definition of a rootkit. I guess what I'm trying to ask is, is it enough of a problem where we really have to attempt to remove it entirely? I've been reading about attempts to neutralize it, some of which work. Would neutralizing it be enough to guarantee relative security?

I'm still studying the technical aspects of it, so forgive me if this is a naive question. I've read some people say that if you remove the default Intel wireless chip and replace it with something else, that removes the ME's ability to connect to the internet. Is this accurate? I ask because I've also read that people have had to delete certain things from the ME itself to neutralize this aspect of it.

Sincerely,
Richie