This follow-up comes after posting in this thread about replacing the mufflers. I the hope someone with the same question(s) that I had will find it useful.
After visiting a couple of reputable muffler shops, I learned that DEQ will only make an issue of mufflers not being installed, if the car sounds too loud during the biennial visits.
My concern with a muffler delete, is that I may not like sound of the AFM & I don't want to find out after the fact.
I also learned from the shops, that it isn't possible to simply swap the stock mufflers with aftermarket ones. There would be some modifications involved, which of course drive up the cost, to about $350 for Flowmaster Super 44 Delta Flows installed. This was confirmed by the good folks at Apex.
Another option is the Solo Axle Back with J-Pipes, which is about $650 installed.
Solo Axle Back with J-Pipes
It's a nice system, but spending that much to improve sound, isn't a high priority right now.
The learning experience has given me great options to consider & I'll probably go with one of them at some point in the near future.