I agree about the part about linkw not being able to use them >_>
Not in a specific sense like that though. When a member abuses them, it's silly to say that it's 'unfair' to ban that member. If someone is doing something wrong, it's not unfair to single them out for doing it.
Lately, every time I've seen the emoticons, they've just seemed...n00bish to me, essentailly. I think it's because of people like linkw (although I Can't think of anyone else who really abuses them as much) using them in every post. So every time I see them, I lose respect for the person who uses them...
I can no longer imagine a case where they could be used in a useful way, but I think that other people here probably have a better imagination than me so I'm not saying to remove them.