PSEMuzzy,
Where are you seeing guys shooting 2 ft. stabilizers on a hunting bow? I've been bowhunting for 22yrs and have never personally seen anyone with anything over 12".

Those side stabilizers and long ones do serve a purpose and 99% of the time you will find them on target bows. (Occaisionally you will see someone with a short side or back weight to balance a hunting bow properly that has an odd geometry that is difficult to balance with normal weight choices)
The 'V-bar' stabilizers you see on target bows are important in their ability to counterbalance the weight of extended sight bars and long front rods.
Without the counterbalancing affect most target bows will not balance properly while aiming and will have a tendency to dive hard in the direction of the sight.
It is important to balance any bow properly in the static(at full draw)and dynamic (at the shot) modes.
V'bars and long stabilizers are not BS in any way shape or form.......they don't serve any practical purpose in hunting situations but are vital in many target formats.