> Now considering these two things: the low percentage of searches per visit and the queries being used I lean to the idea removing the search functionality altogether to un-clutter the navigation bar (the search function takes up 25% of the navigation width).
> 
> My question: is this reasoning sane? Or am I overlooking something?

The Search feature doesn't need to be included on every website but if a few users need quick access to a document/page they have the option to search. The search feature comes in handy as websites grow and documents/pages don't fit into the navigation structure. 

The size of the search field can also be reduced if it's visually distracting. [PatternTap][1] offers many pattern examples you can use as reference to re-styling the search field.


[Ecomangination][2] has a good example using limited space for their search field. Using a magnifying glass to represent search when a user clicks the icon it expands to show users the search input field.


![Ecomangination search field][3]

*Ecomangination Search Example*



 


  [1]: http://patterntap.com/tags/type/search
  [2]: http://www.ecomagination.com/
  [3]: https://i.sstatic.net/SrH9Y.png